


A Dark Lord Is Born

by ambidextrious_witch



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Boarding School, F/M, Friendship/Love, Magic, Orphans, Riddle at Hogwarts Era, Witches, Wizarding World, Wizards
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-07-13
Updated: 2015-02-14
Packaged: 2018-05-30 14:13:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 65
Words: 287,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6427183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ambidextrious_witch/pseuds/ambidextrious_witch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tom Riddle was once a boy unlike any other in Wool's Orphanage and was content with living his life out there as a freak. However, his hopeless fate soon changed upon the arrival of Frankie Dickson, a girl who was apparently just as freakish as he was. This is a story of a friendship that was to be forgotten by time. For who would believe the future Dark Lord to ever have feelings.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Orphanage

It was right around the end of the summer of 1935 in London. Technically, that was where and when it all started. The city was still busy and booming with all that new technology and style. It all seemed to be the center of the world, a warm and vibrant place to live. However, not all could feel the warmth and glow in this bright-lighted city of wonder. Their story just had to begin in the absolute most depressing place in all of London: _Wool’s Orphanage_. The orphanage resided in a tumbledown, old brick building, that was somehow still standing after thirty or so odd years. It had several thick vines of ivy crawling up the sides and was being consumed by mossy aging bricks. Sometimes it looked more like a giant bush, rather than a place where children were supposed to be living. The building was just as rundown and battered on the inside as it was on the outside, yet it was still somehow miraculously operating with at least some substantial comfort. Although, to be fair to the establishment, an orphanage is not meant to be a happy place or a thriving business. As it is well known, an orphanage is a temporary home where children are usually sent to after their parents have died. Naturally, just by existing, little happiness could ever be found in such an awful place.

However, finding happiness wasn’t completely impossible.

Let’s rewind to a little over eight years ago, before their story even started at Wool’s Orphanage. It was once actually a significantly happier place, not as shabby, but more shiny and new, like most things are when they’re in their youth. The orphanage was run and founded by a Mr. Archibald Cole, a vibrant, happy man, with a great passion to help the less fortunate. Along with his loving wife, Maggie Cole, they made sure no child was left alone on the streets of London. He loved all the children, unconditionally, when the world appeared not too, and although it was rather dull and dingy place to be, the children there were always cared for. Well, decently cared for. At least they weren't starving on the streets. Thankfully, there were many couples that came by and many kids came and went. Unfortunately, Archibald Cole suddenly died of illness in the winter of 1925. Even though this man had dozens of children and people to mourn his passing, no one suffered this tragedy more than Maggie Cole. Although, she no longer had her husband, the woman had foolishly promised him she would keep the orphanage running on her own after he passed. It was one of the only ones in the city now and she wasn’t cruel enough to send all those kids out on the streets. However, after only a few days running the place alone, she soon came to realize that without her dear husband there beside her she really hated children. There were many days she cared about nothing, a day or two when she was far too strict, and some days that she just broke down, crumbling. Also, to add even further to her troubles, her husband’s death was only the first of the many tragedies to occur at Wool’s Orphanage.

Exactly a year after the death of her husband, a boy was born.

Not hers, certainly. She was already past child-bearing years and could only barely handle the ones that weren’t even her’s. It was a young woman who had just showed up at the steps of the orphanage, on New Year’s Eve of all the inconvenient days, in labor. Why was a miracle, such as the birth of child, thought of as such a tragedy? Unfortunately, the poor woman didn’t have the will to live any longer and died mere minutes after the birth of the beautiful baby boy, leaving him pretty much the only child to ever be literally born an orphan. His mere existence was a tragedy. However, Mrs. Cole didn’t really seem to mind him much, though. Despite her deep hatred of children and the dreary coincidence he was born exactly a year after her husband’s death, she kind of liked him. The darling child was beautiful, unlike his mother, and he was a very well behaved baby. He wouldn’t start causing her so much grief till much later in his life. She naturally didn’t once think that later in his life that boy would be the cause of so many more tragedies across the nation, to try and make up for his own tragic beginnings. Of course, what woman would suspect she was carrying a monster in her arms? She would only see the light when he got older and met _her_ , which is what this story is really about. It’s not about the sad life of a bitter, uptight, unfortunate woman. It’s about the simple meeting of a boy and a girl and all the good and bad it caused for the world. The boy met her practically soaked in tragedy, but their meeting was anything but tragic.

They met in that miserable place in London, in the summer of 1935...

_"He's such a strange boy."_

Currently, there were a total of five workers employed at Wool's Orphanage. Mrs. Cole had to hire them all a couple weeks after the death of her husband. She obviously couldn’t handle running an orphanage on her own. To be fair, who could handle over thirty kids 24/7 and not be driven absolutely crazy? It’s not one of those things that gets easier over time. With five others to help her, they maintained a slightly more orderly establishment. On that particular late August afternoon, two of them were sitting at the old wood table by the kitchen, folding dish rags and clean clothes that had just been taken off the line. They sat gossiping about the same old thing, like most woman do in their spare time, not getting any work done. Mrs. Cole was still in her office sorting through some paper work about a new arrival, so they were allowed to move at such a glacial pace and whisper.

“He always has been. Ever since the day he was born, there’s been something just a little off about him,” the woman sitting beside her answered back, dropping her work just to cover her mouth with her hands. If _he_ saw them talking, whether it was about him or not, they would be punished, “Never cried or made a fuss, as a babe. It’s positively abnormal for a baby boy not to cry.”

"Sometimes he genuinely frightens me. I think he belongs in the asylum." the other woman admitted, folding another freshly cleaned dish rag and placing it on the small pile of the already folded. The women were trying not to peer over into the room across the way filled with playing children. If they were to catch the subject’s eye, they would most certainly be his next victims and suffer many consequences. However, it was really pointless to try and fight the tempting urge. He sucked people in, yet they were still terrified to look at him. Both of the workers sat at the table blatantly staring at the subject of their conversation. It was a young boy, who was no more than eight years of age. He was quietly sitting by himself in the far corner of the playroom, with his head buried in the same old book.

This boy was Tom Riddle.

The boy who was born an orphan. An infamously tragic creature, yet surprisingly a very beautiful one as well. Even at this young age, he was already incredibly good looking, especially considering his circumstances too. The workers tended to say nasty things about his mother’s complexion when they thought he wasn’t listening. He, however, was the image of childhood perfection. His dark black hair was always neat, with every hair in place, and his pale white skin was just like unscratched, flawless porcelain. You'd think those hags talking about him would adore him and he would be quite popular with all the other kids, the one they'd all want to play with and befriend. However, in truth, Tom Riddle was a monster that they feared above all else. He had a deathly glare that could be miles away and still give you shivers, not to mention all the _strange_ things that just seemed to happen around him.

Ever since the incident where Billy Stubbs's beloved pet rabbit was hung from the rafters by its ears, the rumor came around that said you would be ‘cursed’ if you even so much as look at Tom. The other orphans had come to think of him as pure evil, the son of Satan, the devil in disguise. Meanwhile, the staff whispered about his seemingly new sociopathic behavior. Very soon Tom would bump up his status to a full-blown psychopath and would probably try to kill someone in the near future. Even though no one could prove it was him, the rabbit didn't hang itself from the rafters, now did it?

It was all true. Well, _mostly_ true…

You see, Tom Riddle had discovered around age six that he had these strange powers that could make things happen, not exactly 'cursing', but abnormal abilities. Even he had no idea why or how he got them, but it's not like he was going to object to being out of the ordinary in a place where everyone was so painfully boring. Based on conjecture and the little facts he had, Tom predicted he was born with these strange powers. He was born an irregular freak. Mrs. Cole had told him his mother had been in the circus, when he had a very brief nagging period about where his real parents had gone. It made sense he was a freakish being, having being spawned from show freaks.

Tom hadn't really had much awareness or control over his powers until a few years ago. However, ever since then, he’d been using them to torment and torture the other orphans of the orphanage. Eventually, everyone started to leave him alone, out of the fear of what he could possibly do to them if they got too close. Their imaginations ran wild, but were not considered to be so outlandish since Tom had grown the creativity and mindset of a serial killer. In his mind, everyone around him was garbage and filth. There wasn't anyone worth talking to or befriending in such a dull, miserable place. The others just didn't get what it was like to have all this power and be so viciously different. Even at such a young age, they were all engineered to shun the abnormalities that made people different, which evidently left Tom exiled from the others, whether he tortured them with his powers or not. He was perfectly fine with it, though. He would have rather been left alone anyway.

Tom looked up from his reading to give the two women, who were both blatantly staring at him from the hall, a glare of pure detest. They shot up from their seats immediately and started fast-walking down the hall, clunking over their chairs in a desperate attempt to get away. He smirked to himself a little and went back to his reading, like he hadn't done a thing. Unfortunately, Tom only got in a few sentences, when Mrs. Cole came marching into the room. At first he thought it was to scold him for the obvious act of terror he had inflicted on those hags, however, then he noticed there was a girl awkwardly shuffling behind her. Mrs. Cole clapped her hands, getting the attention of all the kids in the room and they all gathered in front of her and the newest arrival.

"Everyone I'd like to announce we have a new member joining us today. Please make her feel welcome." Mrs. Cole smiled. The kids tried looking behind her, to catch glimpses of this addition, but the girl was hiding silently behind Mrs. Cole, clutching onto her trunk for dear life. Tom was the only one to get a good view of her because he had refused to get out of the corner for something as trivial as a new girl. However, he did look at her. Tom had glanced at her, out of curiosity and maybe the slightest hope for someone interesting. She was staring at him too, just staring at him. Her eyes were transfixed on the corner, like she was unsure if he was real or ghost. Tom pretended to go back to his book, in the hopes she would quit her incessant stare. Finally, after what seemed like several moments, she stopped and walked out in front of Mrs. Cole so everyone could see what Tom saw. The girl appeared to be around eight as well. Her hair was down in large wavy hazel locks that seemed to perfectly match her eyes and contour her pale rosy cheeks. She dressed a little nicer than the other girls, but not very fancy. The peter pan collared floral dress rose just above her knees, displaying two short legs with a speckle of scattered scars. Tom’s stare had gotten caught specifically on the gruesome imperfect sight with a slight curiosity. She was a rather plain looking girl, beyond her intriguing series of scars, yet had some sort of radiance about her that made her sparkle and stand out amongst the crowd. It was most likely just the illusion of being the shiny new arrival. It would soon go away as she became assimilated into one of them. Although, Tom strangely felt that there was something about her that was familiar to him, like he’d seen that incessant stare and light eyes before. However, there was no possible way he could've known her unless she had been here before, which was even more unlikely, considering both your parents normally only died once.

"Why don't you introduce yourself, dear?" Mrs. Cole suggested, gesturing with her hands for the girl to step closer to the other kids. She decided to remain her distance, but still spoke on command.

"I—m—Frankie. It's a—a pleasure to meet you all." she muttered, at the floor more than anyone in particular. Tom was listening from the corner, unable to really do much else considering the scene the new girl was making. He noticed it was an awkward, stiff introduction. The girl didn’t give much confidence in her own name and forgot to give her surname with it. It wasn’t a particularly odd thing, considering her age, Tom was just making more observations and judgments. A wave of whispers washed through the crowd. They were most likely judging her after only introducing herself, like Tom was, only louder.

"I'll take this." Mrs. Cole insisted, grabbing the trunk from her. Frankie looked as if she wanted to protest, but didn't say anything about it. The second Mrs. Cole stepped out of the room the other girls immediately swarmed around her, while the boys trudged off back to their own games. Tom stopped his unintentional staring, as the annoying group of other orphanage girls began introducing themselves. She was most likely going to become one of them within the hour. However, something about her made him look up yet again, unable to focus on the words of his book even though the scene she was making before was mostly over. It was odd. The more he looked at her, the more she looked like she didn’t belong with them, the more out-of-place she seemed. She had a different aura then the rest of them. Unexpectedly, she slipped out of the irritating group of girls and started walking towards him.

"Hello, my name is Frankie. What's yours?" she smiled, holding out her hand. Tom didn't answer her. Perhaps the other girls hadn't told her about him yet, which was strange because it seemed like their favorite thing was to tell stories of their run-ins with him in the past. Surely, they must've told her how strange he was, how he would curse her if she didn't stay away.

Well, it didn't matter if she didn't know right now, she would soon enough. No matter how different she seemed from the rest, once she found out about him she would be the same as everyone else. He was just about to tell her to go away, when Amy Benson swooped in, grabbed Frankie's other hand, and pulled her back toward the group of girls. Tom sighed in relief at the problem that had solved itself and simply went back to reading. Meanwhile, Amy was still pulling along the confused new girl who didn’t understand what was happening.

"You shouldn't go near _him_." Amy gulped, once she believed they were at a safe enough distance.

"Why? He seemed really nice." Frankie stated, gazing back at him in the corner of room. Even though she never really got the chance to talk to him, he didn't seem all that bad. He actually looked kind of lonely, sitting there separated from everyone else.

"He's incredibly dangerous! You'll get cursed if you so much as look at him." Amy trembled. The other girls joined in on the paranoia, immediately knowing she was talking about Tom, and started telling their own stories about him. However, Frankie wasn't listening whatsoever, her gaze was still fixed on the boy himself. They were so afraid they wouldn't even use his name, as if saying it would curse you instantly. Why was everyone so frightened of him? He just seemed like a normal boy.

"Supper is ready!" Mrs. Cole called. Everyone hurried towards the door with tremendous speed, except Frankie and Tom. He sat unaffected by this sudden announcement, while she was wondering whether he had heard her or not. Amy came back and grabbed her once more, leaving Tom alone again. He soon finished the paragraph he was reading and shut the book, only to find that he had once again been left behind. Tom silently sneaked back up to his room, while the other kids were washing up, not wanting to be at such a social occasion with that strange new girl.

Once supper was over, the kids were forced to return upstairs to their rooms until the lights were supposed to go out. Frankie had not been showed her room when she arrived, so she wandered the darkening upstairs corridor, very lost. She didn't want to bother Mrs. Cole or the workers with something so trivial and be a burden on them, so she decided to figure it out herself. Not knowing what else to try, Frankie decided to open one of the many doors without knocking. What she found in room 27 was Tom Riddle, sitting on the bed, reading in the dim light, looking no different than he had downstairs in the corner. He looked up, saw her awkwardly standing in his doorway, and scowled.

"What do _you_ want?" Tom demanded, clearly angered by this sudden unwanted intrusion.

"I'm sorry. Mrs. Cole never showed me my room, so I—"

"So, you just decided burst into people's rooms and disturb them. Brilliant idea." Tom remarked, having already mastered perfect sarcasm at only eight years of age. Surprisingly, Frankie didn't take his anger and sarcasm to any offense.

She just smiled.

"Not a very well thought out plan, I suppose." Frankie laughed. The laugh seemed to fill him with a warm, fluttering feeling. It was the kind of laugh that made you want to laugh as well, even if the situation wasn’t even remotely funny. However, for someone like him, laughing at something other than the pure pain of others was pretty much impossible.

"If it's your room you're looking for it should be one right next to this one, number 26." he answered, pointing at the wall to his left. Although, he didn’t actually know that. There were a few vacancies at the moment, but 26 was generally always empty. If it was not, Tom made it so. Kids would rather double up on rooms, then be close enough to the Antichrist that he could hear them breathing through the thin walls.

Once Mrs. Cole finished checking her trunk for valuables, she would already find Frankie snuggled up in room 26, convinced she belonged there. It was not her room. However, it could’ve been her’s, if Tom really wished it to be. And, for a curious moment, that was what Tom wished.

"Thanks!" she remarked, giving him a small wave goodbye before shuffling out to head to what was her right. The word filled Tom with some kind of other kind of gooey feeling he was not used to. He had heard it somewhere before. Not just anybody's "thanks", her thanks. How was that possible? Why couldn't he remember? He dropped the notion in seconds, figuring it was pointless to try and solve it. Even if he did, it certainly had no meaning to it. I mean, for all he knew, he saw her on the streets one day and picked up her dropped handkerchief, or something else positively trivial. It didn’t matter. Tom had just gone back to reading and read about a paragraph, when the door suddenly burst open again.

"I never got your name." Frankie added. She had rushed back just for that, to learn his name. She had acted as if it was the most important thing in the world. His common name.

"It's Tom. Tom Riddle" Tom answered.

"Okay, then. Bye Tom. I’ll see you tomorrow!" she exclaimed, waving goodbye again as she closed the door once more. Meanwhile, Tom stared blankly at the door for a second, confused about what just happened. She knew. The stories, all the whispers and rumors, he knew that she had heard them after Amy had pulled her away. Yet she laughed normally in his presence, even smiled when she spoke to him. This girl was an utterly strange anomaly and he already wanted nothing more to do with her. However, there was another small part of him that kind of wished she’d once again come flying through the door to ask him more trivial, meaningless questions.


	2. The Billy Stubb Incident

_"What's wrong with her?"_ Tom thought, shoveling a spoonful of oatmeal angrily into his mouth. It was breakfast time and he was talking to the only person with any sense around this place. Himself. Unfortunately, he was finding it difficult to complain about his little problem with only himself sympathize and listen.

It had been exactly one week since the arrival of the strange new girl, Frankie Dickson (he’d stolen her file from Mrs. Cole’s office, trying to get information on her and her last name was pretty much all he discovered). She was now occupying most of his time and thoughts. Not because he had come to like her in anyway. She was still foolishly attempting to try and befriend him. No matter how many times the other girls had tried to warn her of him and pull her away, she just kept springing back like an elastic hairband. It was like she had some kind of desperation to be his friend. Tom really wanted to know exactly what her deal was. Why did she want to be his friend so badly? He was a wicked, evil demon that could curse her down a flight of stairs if he wanted too. Why could she not seem to comprehend that? Did he honestly look like he was desperate for companionship? He would’ve asked her some of these burning questions that he had and tell her off once and for all. However, at this point, it probably wouldn’t do him any good. Since she was still following him around after a whole week, she seemed to be the tough type that didn’t cry easily no matter how cruel you were to her. Besides, initiating anymore conversation other than simple one worded answers, would probably just provoke her affections more and he couldn’t have that.

" _I suppose if I use my powers on her she'll leave me alone…"_

Tom got up from the dining table, after mindlessly consuming the food that had been in front of him. He never really did eat, normally. There usually wasn’t much to begin with and he didn’t really have the obsession with it that others did. Tom ate just enough to keep himself living. However, that girl had distracted him so much he just wasn't thinking about the fact he was properly eating for once. Tom grabbed his book off the table and started to walk toward his usual corner, surprisingly unaware that he was being followed. He only noticed, after he settled down in the corner, that Frankie was staring down at him. He mentally recoiled in shock, however, his expression remained cool and composed.

"What are you reading?" Frankie inquired, trying to read the book right out of his hand.

"Nothing of interest." Tom sighed, turning the book and covering it with his arm, to try and to conceal the words from her.

"Then, why do you read it?" she asked, curiously. Tom remained silent. He didn't really have an answer for a question like that. _Why_ did he read it? Well, _why_ did she need to know? _Why_ was she doing this? He had absolutely no intention of being friends with her whatsoever. She may have been somewhat different from the rest of the dumb, idiotic orphans here, but she certainly wasn't different like him. He had these strange powers that someone like her could never even dream to understand. Perhaps, now was the perfect time to demonstrate his superior abilities, while also getting her off his back for good. Once he made her into another one of his victims, she would no longer try so desperately to be his friend. She would leave him alone, like everyone else, and he could continue to live his life out in peace. Besides, it would be quite lovely to see the abnormally cheery girl in tears, as he set her long hair ablaze. One other thing Tom had learned from Frankie’s file was that her entire house was burned in a fire and her parents had perished with it. He’d bet anything, if he had anything to bet in the first place, that she was afraid of fire. Tom focused his powers. It wasn't that hard. He had gotten a lot of practice from torturing the other orphans that lived there.

"Are you okay, Tom? Is there something wrong?"

Once again, he did not have an answer to give her. Although, there was some better reasoning for him not to this time. There was something very, very wrong with him. Tom was sure he had just used his powers on her, part of her hair should be in flames right about now. She should’ve been screaming and crying her eyes out. However, Frankie remained completely unaffected by his curse. He didn't have time to think about why his powers had failed him for the first time ever, though. Billy Stubb and the rest of his gang suddenly started to crowd around the two. They shoved Frankie out of the way, saving her from Tom’s wickedness, like the righteous hero’s they thought they were. Even though she was equal part in this appending conversation, it wasn’t her they planned on hurting.

"So, you're trying to curse the new girl now?" Billy smirked. Tom remained in silent resilience and continued to try reading his book, like they were not there. Why add onto their stupidity? They clearly had enough of it already. Besides, he had already tried to 'curse' her. It didn't work. Like most normal boys their age, Billy took Tom's silence as a sign of insubordination and a resistance of the status quo. A couple of misguided attributes that could only be washed away through severe pain. Suddenly, Billy ripped the book from Tom’s hands and kicked him hard in the stomach. The boys laughed and Billy tossed the book out of the circle, just like Frankie, so Tom once again had nothing he could hide behind.

"HEY! I'm talking to you, freak. And when I’m talking, you’d better answer." Billy yelled, cocking his fist for another attack. Tom tried to get up and fight back with his powers, but his stomach lurched. The first attack had gotten him by too much of a surprise. Billy's second attack was heading straight for him. Tom shut his eyes and braced himself, but the punch never came. He hesitatingly looked up to see what was going on.

Frankie had jumped out in front of him, blocking him from the attack. At first, Tom thought she had foolishly taken the punch for him, but in closer examination she had been a whole lot smarter than that. She had picked up his book, blocking her from the attack as well, and Billy slammed his meaty hand right into it. Billy clutched his buzzing red fist, howling with the pain the hardcover had brought him.

"Leave him alone." Frankie commanded, defiantly. Tom and the other boys were marveled speechless at her foolish resistance, while Billy stopped his unbearable howling to shoot a sickly smile at her.

"He must already have you cursed. I’m surprised, it’s the first time he’s taken in an underling,” Billy sneered, getting mere inches from her face. Frankie stood tall even though she stood no chance against him. He was the size of a baby whale and she was as small as a rabbit, “Such a pity, I kind of liked you…"

For the first time, Tom actually felt something for the girl that wasn’t confusion or anger. He wasn't sure exactly what the feeling was, though. A mix of pity and admiration, perhaps. Admiration, for proving in just minutes she had strength and cunning. Not just anyone at the orphanage had those. Pity, for what he knew what was about to happen to her for having these valuable personality traits. Billy pushed her aside, without breaking a sweat and her body hit the floor with one resounding, THUNK!

Tom wasn't allowed to pity her fall for long because now no one stood between Billy and him. Billy raised his fist one more and Tom braced himself once more. But the punch never came. Tom hesitantly opened his eyes, wondering what had stopped him this time now that Frankie was disposed of, and saw an astounding sight. Billy's fist had come around and punched himself in the face. He tried to swing it back at Tom, but it just kept swinging back around and clocking him in different parts of his own face again and again. After a few rounds at himself, clearly unable to stop punching himself uncontrollably in the face, Billy’s nose eventually started spurting blood. He started to cry and ran to go tell Mrs. Cole, leaving nothing but a scarlet red trail behind him. Meanwhile, Tom and the rest of the boys stood frozen, looking completely and utterly shocked.

_What?_

All of them turned to Tom, naturally. Billy’s actions just had to be another one of Tom’s infamous curses at work. This certainly wouldn’t be the first time odd, unexplained things happened around him. However, noticing Tom looked just about as surprised as they did, they realized that for once he was not the culprit to this unfortunate accident. Then, Frankie sprung back to life from her apparent unconscious state, trying to hold back big chuckles of laughter, and they all immediately turned their attention on to her. She smiled a sort of devilish grin and all the boys, except Tom, look absolutely horrified.

"She cursed him!" Eric Whalley accused, pointing at her with his shaking finger.

Then, it had struck him. Tom quickly got up from his corner spot, grabbed Frankie by the wrist, and pulled her away with him past the group of frightened boys. They ran across the room, up the stairs, until they finally reached his room. Tom closed the door behind them and stood against it. Escape was impossible. Well, not really, if his new suspicions about her were correct. However, it would keep her there, for the moment at least. Now, after what just happened, he actually wanted her talking to him.

"Alright, now speak! I know you did that, but how?" Tom ordered, pointing his finger at her, accusingly. Unlike Whalley and the other boys, he was not afraid of anyone. Even if it was someone who could rival the likes of him. Frankie stared blankly at his demands, playing innocent and doe-eyed, but it wouldn’t fool Tom, "Who are you? _What are you?_ "

"I suppose there’s no use hiding it, after that gruesome display downstairs,” Frankie sighed, with a sort of somber expression. It was not something she planned to reveal, especially within her first week at the orphanage. She was frightened about how the other kids would see her. A freak. Tom would probably run away after she told him, “The truth is that I’ve had these strange powers, ever since about two years ago. I'm pretty sure I was born with them, but I can’t be too sure. I can’t remember much…”

Tom was silent, which worried her deeply.

“It’s really quite harmless though. I promise,” she assured, his paralyzed silence. “I can make little fireworks in my palm, make flowers bloom in the dead of winter, all sorts of peculiar abnormal little things. However, I assure you, I’m not dangerous."

He wasn’t listening to her pleas of innocence claiming she wasn’t dangerous. That’s not what really mattered to him. It was all unbelievable, absolutely incredible. Tom knew that she was slightly different from all those other lowly orphans, but he never imagined she was different just like him. Tom was still in a sort of stunned silence. He had obviously never met anyone else like him and still wasn't sure how to react to it, react to _her_. He didn't know how he could possibly answer her, to tell her they were somewhat the same. However, he knew that he could show her. Tom walked over to his desk and pointed his finger to the pen lying there. It sprung to life and started writing graceful loops in midair, ink falling to the floor as it wrote. He turned around to see her reaction. Would she happy? Angry? Frightened? She had suddenly changed from dead serious and a little worried to totally ecstatic.

"Wow! You can do magic too, that’s incredible! I've never met someone else like me, before…" Frankie exclaimed, stepping closer to Tom and the fluttering pen. He lost control, causing the pen to clunk on to the floor in a final bleeding pool, probably broken. However, the mess wasn’t his concern, at the moment. Magic, she called it, like it wasn’t something horrible. Tom had never thought of his powers as magic before. They seemed too dark to be thought of something so wonderful.

"We can be friends now, right?" she grinned, happily. Tom just stared blankly at her. This absurd friend nonsense again…He didn't need any friends, he had always told himself that. Certainly, after his powers came in and the other boys turned on him, at least. No one else was worthy of him. However, she certainly came as close to the best as he was going to ever get in a place like this. A girl with supernatural powers, just like him, how could he possibly ignore someone like that?

Tom could always have accepted her, if not a friend, then an accomplice or a partner of sorts. She was capable of dangerous things and, with her by his side, they could do so many more extraordinary things then Tom could accomplish on his own. Make the normal suffer.

He answered her, "I suppose I don't hate you."


	3. I'm Not a Doctor, I'm a Wizard

Ever since the incident with Billy Stubb, Frankie was practically glued to Tom at the hip, whether he liked it or not. All the kids believed her cursed as well, so no one dared to try and talk to her. The girls now liked to whisper things about her _and_ Tom, as partners in crime. Trying to start fires in the kitchen, putting rodents in people's beds, calling on Satan to steal the younger ones, their imaginations went wild as usual. The boys weren't as creative. They would toss blocks at Frankie and call her a freak, whenever she passed them. Compared to Tom, she seemed like the easier target, despite the fact she could curse all their limbs off for all they knew.

What the boys had learned that the girls had not, however, was because of the goodness of her heart she wouldn't use her powers against them again. Frankie hardly ever used her powers, especially to harm the others, like Tom did. She generally only liked to use them when she was alone with Tom. Although, she had the potential to rival his destructive abilities, Frankie really enjoyed simple magic. Like she had told him, her favorite things were creating little magical sparks in her hands, making flowers bloom before their time, and moving objects towards her so she wouldn’t have to get up and get them. The most harm she'd ever done to anyone, since Billy, was one time when she accidentally turned one of the orphanage worker's hair bright pink. Tom had let out a small chuckle upon seeing it, which was kind of a big deal considering he never ever laughed at anything other than physical pain. Her magic may have been for the most part harmless and she didn't have as much control over it as Tom did, but he still thought it was a pretty extraordinary thing. So, he kept her.

In spite of everything, she was always allowed to be cheerfully by his side. He grew somewhat of an attachment to her, even though he had previously claimed he needed no one else. They were most likely the only two kids in all of London with powers. It'd be foolish to push away the first and probably only person that he would ever meet that was just like him. The meeting was pure fate.

Although, over the years, she started to feel more and more familiar to him. It was like he had known her for much, much longer. He even used to have strange dreams about her sitting in a hospital bed with bandages over her eyes, or him sitting outside in the garden and hearing her laugh coming from the bushes, when he had first decided to accept her deal of friendship. Naturally, like with most things, he just disregarded them and they went away. Tom felt somewhat connected to her, yet he still wouldn't even call them friends after nearly three years together. They didn’t have much in common, other than magic. Her upbeat personality was obviously his complete opposite and yet he didn’t push her away. Tom greeted her in the morning, sat next to her at breakfast, and they would spend their day together reading books or practicing their magic. Tom couldn't describe his feelings for her, besides saying that he didn't hate her anymore, but even he didn't know what that meant.

One seemingly average August afternoon, a strange, ominous downpour had decided to hang itself over the entire city. Since him and Frankie were not permitted outside on such a day, Tom was reading alone in his room. They would sit at a small white table in the garden on a normal summer afternoon. The rain shouldn’t have separated them, but Frankie was technically not allowed in his room, even though she had done it anyway. She insisted this afternoon they follow the rules, so he was taking his time off to read a book he ‘bought’ at the bookstore the other day. Tom was almost completely enveloped in his book when, suddenly, he heard two voices drifting up from the stairs that distracted him. Mrs. Cole was talking to someone. It sounded like a man. Tom left his book on his bed and went to his door for a listen. He couldn't make out some of the words, but it sounded as the man was asking a bunch of questions about someone in particular. He must've just been here to adopt one of these—

And then he heard his name…

He raced back on top of his gray, scratchy wool blankets, _"It must be the doctor!"_ Tom thought, in a bit of a panic. Mrs. Cole would never actually bring anyone by to adopt him. She ought to know by now it would be a fruitless effort to try and get someone else to take the monster away. However, Tom had overheard a conversation between her and one of the workers a few days ago. She wanted both him and Frankie to be looked at by specialists and possibly taken to an insane asylum. Mrs. Cole had come to despise the pair of them with all her heart and believed they were both very sick in the mind. All these horrible incidents happened and the two just barely seemed to be connected with them. It was mostly just Tom, but it wouldn’t stop her from blaming Frankie too. Apparently, having practically raised the boy herself, she never believed any of the Tom rumors. It was only when Frankie came along did she start seeing with eyes unclouded and she was convinced the girl was leading him towards wickedness. She still couldn’t actually catch them in the act, because of the magic covering their tracks, but she knew it was them. Her intuition was the only thing that treated her well. Too bad it wouldn’t do her any good, unless she had proof.

Tom heard two knocks on the other side of his door and quickly picked up the book again, to pretend that he was reading and had never been anywhere near his door. It swung open, after the brief knocks, despite not giving them the okay to come in. A rosy-cheeked, blatantly drunk Mrs. Cole came clambering in closely followed by a tall man.

"Tom? You have a visitor." Mrs. Cole stated. She said the man's name was, Mr. Dumberton—wait, Dunderbore. However, Tom suspected she was just too intoxicated to get his name right. Mrs. Cole laughed a drunken laugh and the man gave out a good spirited chuckle, while Tom sat highly unamused. She apologized and excused herself out. Tom stayed silent taking in the appearance of this strange man. He looked to be about forty or so and had long auburn hair that rested on his shoulders. His dimming blue eyes were hidden behind half-moon spectacles and was wearing a flamboyantly cut suit of plum velvet. Tom thought he looked rather strange and eccentric for a doctor.

"How do you do, Tom?" the man greeted him, walking toward Tom and holding his hand out. Tom just stared at it for a moment, like it was infected and diseased, before eventually taking it up and shaking it. The man took the hard-wood chair from Tom's desk and sat beside him.

"I'm Professor Dumbledore." he added. Wow, Mrs. Cole hadn't really been too far off after all. Tom would've chuckled a little, if he hadn't been paying attention to the 'professor' part. He knew it.

"'Professor'?" Tom repeated, looking suddenly very wary. "Is that like 'doctor'? What are you here for? Did she get you in here to have a look at me?"

He was pointing at the door referring to Mrs. Cole, though she probably wasn't still there. Meanwhile, Dumbledore just sat there in an unsettlingly mellow silence. Despite Tom rapid questioning and growing anger, the man seemed very unbothered by him.

"No, no. I'm no doctor, Tom." Dumbledore smiled, simply waving Tom's notion away, trying to calm him down a little.

"I don't believe you." Tom retorted back, at Dumbledore's kind smiling face. That's how they lured you in, making you believe they're not here to hurt you, and then eventually they're dragging you off to the asylum. He would not go. His life was obviously not a good one here at Wool’s Orphanage, but he rather preferred it to a padded room and a strait jacket. "They want me looked at, don't they? Tell the truth!"

Tom's anger had reached its peak and he was glaring daggers at Dumbledore, yet Dumbledore kept smiling at him like he was blind to the vicious glare that could’ve killed him. Tom sighed, calming down just a little, and decided to give up on the subject, for the moment. He felt sick and wary being with this strange man and it had not even been ten minutes since he came in.

"Who are you?" Tom asked, for a second time, as if expecting to hear something different this time around.

"I have told you already my name is Professor Dumbledore and I work at a school named Hogwarts. I want to offer you to come to my school." Dumbledore answered, simplistically. Tom scoffed. Hogwarts, really? Was he honestly supposed to believe that? He was not in a mood for such crap. He suddenly jumped off his bed and backed away from Dumbledore. He really treated Dumbledore as if he was some fatal infectious disease to him. Tom had become furious and sick from of all the lies that were coming out of this man's mouth.

"You can't kid me! You've come to take me to an asylum, well guess what 'Professor' I'm not going you see. I haven't done anything wrong!" Tom yelled psychotically, only further proving that an asylum was exactly where he belonged.

"I'm not from an asylum," Dumbledore stated, calmly. "I'm a teacher and, if you sit down, I shall tell you about my school. No one is forcing you to come if you don't want to."

"They couldn't even if they tried." Tom answered, defiantly, yet he was still standing on the other side of the room like a frightened child.

Dumbledore went on, "Hogwarts is a school for kids with special abilities—"

"I'm not mad!" Tom yelled at once, knowing that what people like Dumbledore meant by 'special abilities' he meant it was a madhouse for kids who took the early train to crazy town. He really wasn't mad. Just because he hated the entire world, didn't make him crazy, or at least it didn't in his mind. It made him sane and the rest of the world just crazy. Even Frankie was absolutely bonkers in his mind, but sane enough for him to tolerate.

"Of course you're not mad, Tom. Hogwarts isn't a school for mad people. It's a school for magic."

Tom was shocked by the word and stood there in silence, staring into Dumbledore's eyes, trying to see if he was lying with this like he thought he had been doing this entire time. He had to be lying about something like this. There was no possible way he could be telling the truth. However, his eyes didn’t lie. Tom had never really considered his powers as magic, Frankie’s possibly, but his powers seemed darker than that. He also certainly never imagined a bunch of kids just like them hiding away at some school.

"Is that what my powers are? Magic…"

"What sort of powers are these, Tom?"

"All sorts," Tom replied, with a bit of a prideful gleam in his eye. "I can make things float without touching them. I can make animals do as I please. I can make bad things happen to people who annoy me. I can make them hurt if I want."

Tom sat back on his bed, trembling. He always knew he was something special, better than all these mortal scraps, and now he'd get to join his people. They wouldn't think him some freakish monster because they'd be just as equally freaky as he was and would understand his struggles. He would gain acceptation for his powers. Tom for the first time felt happy, even if it didn't register on his face quite yet. Then, his skepticism returned moments later. He looked over at Dumbledore with more suspicion. Who exactly is this man? He could have just been fooling him. No doubt he had heard the rumors of Tom’s abnormal abilities and was just using this all as a big ploy to get him to the asylum.

"Are you a wizard too?" Tom asked him, seemingly curious, but mostly suspicious.

"Yes, I am." Dumbledore answered.

"Prove it." Tom commanded him. There was no way he could fake magic ability. If he was telling the truth, he would be able to do something extraordinary. Dumbledore just simply raised his eyebrows.

"If, as take it, you are accepting your place at Hogwarts—"

"Of course I am!" Tom spat back, angrily.

"Then you will address me as 'Professor' or 'sir," Dumbledore stated, a bit more sternly then necessary. Tom's expression hardened. _He can't be serious_ _!_ His expression returned to normal a moment later, suppressing the slight singe of anger he felt at the demand.

"I'm sorry, sir. I meant—please, Professor, could you show me—?" Tom said, in a sickly polite voice. Dumbledore withdrew what looked like a stick from his pocket, pointed it at Tom's tiny wardrobe, and gave it a flick.

Suddenly, the whole wardrobe was on fire.

Tom jumped up in shock. He didn't own much, but it was all in that wardrobe. He ran over and tried to get him to stop. A second later the flames had stopped and the wardrobe remained undamaged. Dumbledore had been telling the truth. It was all true. Tom now stared at Dumbledore's wand in awe. It was remarkable how something so small could do something so amazing. He could never do something like that with his powers alone.

"Where can I get one of them?"

"All in good time," Dumbledore smiled, as he stowed his wand back into his pocket. "I think there is something trying to get out of your wardrobe."

Tom could hear a faint rattling from the inside of his wardrobe. Now knowing the kind of power this man possessed, it could be practically anything. It could be some magical unknown creature poised to claw his face off, or a dragon ready to breathe more fire at him. For the first time in his life, probably, Tom was actually afraid.

"Open the door." Dumbledore instructed. Tom hesitated and slowly opened the closet door. On the top shelf of the inside, a small cardboard box was shaking rapidly. "Take it out."

Tom took down the box, obediently. He no longer held a frightened expression on his face, considering it had not been as worst as he imagined it would be. He knew what this box had in it. Tom also knew that Dumbledore had not changed the contents. This was supposed to be a lesson he was trying to teach him.

"Is there anything in that box you ought not to have?" Dumbledore asked. There was no point to lie, the jig was up, and somehow he already knew. Of course, it wasn't like he had done anything to bad. Unless, Dumbledore knew exactly what he had done to his victims to obtain these prizes. Tom only took little victory trophies from his most gruesome of incidents.

"Yes, I suppose so, sir." Tom replied, in an expressionless voice.

"Open it." Tom didn't want to, but he had no choice. Tom did as he was told, opening the box and pouring its contents on to his bed. The contents included a small yo-yo, a silver thimble, a small harmonica, and a scarlet red ribbon. Most of the objects had been souvenirs from all his victories, except one. The scarlet ribbon he had stolen from Frankie not too long ago. He didn’t really know why he did it. She technically was one of his victims, just in a different way.

"You will return them to their owners with your apologies," Dumbledore added. "I shall know whether it has been done. And be warned: Thieving is not tolerated at Hogwarts."

"Yes, sir." Tom answered, blandly. It wouldn't matter that much. He did not care about returning the objects to the other orphans, considering he had forcefully taken them in front of their eyes and probably did not actually want them back by now. He didn’t mind apologizing, either. Frankly, apologizing would cause them all to panic, they would think he was up to something sinister and grow positively paranoid trying to pinpoint when he would strike. As for Frankie, she was not capable of being angry with him. She wasn’t the type who held grudges and unless she wanted to be friendless and lonely for the rest of her time here she wouldn’t dare cross him. Then, he remembered the aspect about Frankie that made her friendless and just like him. She was a wizard, or witch, or whatever, wasn't she?

"What about Frankie?" Tom asked, suddenly, not caring if Dumbledore knew who he was talking about. His intuition told him that he already knew of her. If Dumbledore knew about Tom and his powers, he had to have been informed of Frankie too, his alleged partner in crime.

"I suppose we should ask her as well," Dumbledore answered, looking hopefully towards the door. "You can come in now."

Suddenly, the door flew open and Frankie was being scooted into the room by Mrs. Cole. Upon seeing her in the flesh, looking highly confused as to why she had been brought here, Tom desperately wanted to run to her and go talk to her about all of this where this odd man and maniacal drunk woman could not bother them. To be able to tell her that she had always been right about their powers being magic and everything Dumbledore had told him. If anyone should get to tell her, it should have been him. Sadly, he could not just grab her hand and whisk her away. It wasn’t his style, despite having done it after the Billy Stubb incident to drag her into his room and interrogate her.

"Good afternoon, sir." Frankie smiled, greeting Dumbledore with a polite air. Frankie was usually shown to people for adoptions, as part of Mrs. Cole's effort to get rid of her, and had become rather polite with adults, naturally. However, no couple wanted to adopt her when Tom stepped in. Let's just say he was always doing something different to keep her from being adopted. For some reason, he always felt the need to stop her from adoption, she needed to be there with him. He still didn't know why, though.

Was this the reason why?

"I'm Professor Dumbledore," Dumbledore smiled back, shaking her hand. He seemed much less serious as he had with Tom only moments ago and had a noticeably happier aura. "I've come to ask both you and Tom to join my school."

"What kind of school is it?" Frankie asked, curiously.

"It's called Hogwarts. It's a school for children with magic abilities." Dumbledore explained, his face twisting into a broad smile. Tom found this attitude odd. It was a different tone and smile from when he had been relaying this information to Tom. It was a genuinely happy expression. He acted as if he had been waiting forever to tell her this news and he could not hold it in any longer. However, Frankie eyes widened and she froze at the name.

"A school for magic…"she whispered. Frankie felt as though she had heard that name somewhere else before, yet she couldn't remember where. The name and concept seemed to make her head spin.

"Yes. You have powers don't you, Frankie?" Dumbledore asked, just as he did with Tom. She nodded silently, still trying to fight her own swimming head. Meanwhile, Tom crossed is arms grudgingly, having been cut out of the conversation. Dumbledore quickly noticed this small minor detail and continued, "From what Tom has told me, you have quite extraordinary magical abilities."

In reality, Tom had said nothing of the sort. Her magic ability wasn't that extraordinary, neither was his, from what he just saw Dumbledore do to his wardrobe. He was about to address it, but glanced over at the smile on Frankie's face and decided to let it slide.

"I—I wouldn't say—extraordinary." she stuttered, nervously. Of course, even though a compliment from Tom Riddle was a rather rare thing, since he didn’t speak up, she didn’t even dare to think it was a lie.

"So, what do you say?" Dumbledore asked, yet sounding like he already knew her answer. It was obvious from her tone of voice what it was going to be.

"Yes!"                                                      

"Excellent! I'll be sending your official letters in a few days, which will contain your school supply lists and other valuable information." Dumbledore added, as he got up from his chair. "I'll be coming back soon to escort you to Diagon Alley to shop for your school supplies."

"We don't need your help. We can find it on our own." Tom stated, stubbornly. He would rather not have a babysitter when they go see where the wizard's shops are. Why be introduced to their world as babies?

"Well, you see, it's not like a regular street…"he replied, quite vaguely. “I will be taking you there, soon"

Mrs. Cole escorted him out, trying not to show she was incredibly drunk, as the two walked down the stairs. Frankie and Tom were left there still trying to comprehend what had just happened, listening to the still rapidly falling rain outside. An hour or two ago they were just two freakish orphans on the road to a madhouse, then suddenly with the arrival of this Professor Dumbledore character, they were suddenly going to magic school and going to learn how to hone their powers with other witches and wizards. The odd professor dropped that bomb and then vanished without a trace. Tom was naturally suspicious, even Frankie had her doubts. However, despite their skepticism about Hogwarts and Dumbledore, there was no doubt in their minds he would be coming back for them and, whether he was serious or not about all of this, they would have to be ready for their trip to this ‘Diagon Alley’.


	4. School Shopping in Diagon Alley

They received their letters a couple days later, just like Dumbledore had said, both sealed with red wax and a very official looking crest. It held their school item lists, a letter of congratulations from the headmaster and an extra letter from Dumbledore saying that he would be there in exactly one weeks' time to escort them to Diagon Alley. Frankie was completely ecstatic about going to the wizarding shops, whether Dumbledore would be with them or not. All her doubts were gone with the arrival of the school letters, while Tom still thought Dumbledore could be making fools of them. Over the week, he had grown even more skeptic about the whole thing, despite the extensive proof that Dumbledore had provided him. By Wednesday, Tom had already come up with a billion questions for him, for if and when he returned for them. According to that strange man, it was not just the three of them against the world. “Over 1/3 of Britain’s population is magical”, or so Dumbledore had claimed in their letters. Tom hadn't ever heard of some woman riding the wind on a broomstick, or a man mumbling some hogwash to make his dog stand up and start talking, and certainly not a street in London where you could buy cauldrons and magic wands. If they were everywhere, why hadn't there ever been any trace of others like them before? It all couldn't have been that well-hidden. And, if they were so all mighty and powerful, why did it take them eleven years to find him?

Eventually, the day arrived, the day they were supposed to go to Diagon Alley for their school things and finally get their first look at the wizarding world. They woke up to a day just like any other and got ready as quickly as possible to see if this Professor Dumbledore character would actually return to take them to this fabled alley. Tom was in the playroom, thinking up even more questions to ask Dumbledore, before he came to fetch them. When, suddenly, he was bombarded by Billy Stubb and his gang.

“A private school? How on earth did someone like you get into a private school?” Billy remarked, having not yet gotten a chance to comment on the latest breaking development.

Mrs. Cole had officially announced that Tom and Frankie were going off to a fancy boarding school yesterday. She was very happy and proud about the whole thing. Of course, now that Tom and Frankie were going to be gone most of the year, she would naturally be in a lot better of a mood. No more incidents that often resulted in either a kid being traumatized for life, or sent to the hospital. Just peaceful order and bliss. Tom would bet money, if he had any, Dumbledore didn't tell her anything about sending them off to a school that would increase their "cursing" abilities tenfold. All that she probably knew was that it was a very, _very_ remote school in Scotland.

“Don’t worry about it, Billy. This means you won’t have to see me for nine months,” Tom exclaimed, with high sarcasm. “Who knows, maybe by the time I get back, you’ll have found someone stupid enough to want to adopt you.”

“Why you—”

“I wouldn’t do that, if I were you. Unless you want me to fetch Frankie.” Tom threatened. Billy lowered his fist and stepped back. Ever since Billy found out Frankie was the one who cursed him so bad he broke his own nose, he was secretly frightened of her and the damage she and Tom could do together. Underling was one thing, but he could barely handle one cursed freak, let alone two. He put up a tough soldiers’ front most days, for the other boys, but on the inside he was just a scared little boy afraid of what the monsters might do to him.

“Your guard dog won’t do anything to me.” Billy retaliated.

“Are you so sure?” Tom smirked, wickedly, to convince him his statement was false. Did he really want to test that theory now, when they were so close to being out of this place? Yes, she was harmless, but attempting to hurt Tom was what made her fight back. She hadn’t even really known Tom back then, yet she stood to defend him. If it were to happen now, there was no doubt she would make Billy pay.

Billy backed away, mumbling under his breath how apparently Tom wasn’t worth the effort, before taking his boys and skulking off again. Tom sighed in relief and went back into his skeptical questions. Although, he silently prayed that he wouldn’t have to ask any of them and this was real. He wanted more than anything for this all to be real and to be far, far away from this place at last.

Meanwhile, Frankie was getting caught up with all the other orphan girls, brushing their teeth at the sink in the lavatory. Surprisingly, they weren’t ganging up on her for a beat down, or calling her garbage to her face, but making polite conversation in-between brushes.

"It's so amazing you and Tom get to go to a private boarding school." Amy gushed, after she spit a mouthful of toothpaste into the sink. Frankie stared at her in confusion. Amy Benson had actually dared to strike up a normal conversation with her for the first time in years.

"I agree with Amy. It's going to be a whole lot of fun!"

"Ugh, I can't believe you and Tom get to be there all year why we’re all stuck here!"

"It’s so unfair! You both are so lucky."

They talked to her all throughout breakfast too, while thankfully the boys kept their distance. Tom wanted to speak with Frankie too, but unfortunately, he couldn't get near her this morning. He could see the annoying circle form around her, like before, and he was once again left glaring at them from a distance. All the girls were treating her like she was a new arrival again, talking to her as if the whole cursed thing never happened. Frankie didn't mind though, unlike Tom, she was a forgiving person and always gave people the chance of redemption. Tom only lifted his deadly gaze at the ring of the doorbell and both he and Frankie already suspected who it was. Professor Albus Dumbledore.

"Good morning, Mrs. Cole. I have come to take Frankie and Tom shopping for their school supplies." Dumbledore greeted, politely. Mrs. Cole blushed ever-so-slightly by his polite matter but, before she could mutter a word, the two had suddenly appeared behind her. They were just too eager to leave the place, even if it was only for a little while.

"We're ready to leave, sir." Frankie smiled, giving Dumbledore a wave hello.

"Alright, let's be off then." Dumbledore smiled back. Mrs. Cole waved them farewell as the three set off down the street, probably only because Dumbledore was there though.

They walked for what felt like forever along the busy streets of London, probably only because they were so anxious to get to Diagon Alley. The stares kept growing around them more and more as they walked on. Their focus gleamed onto the tall, auburn haired man leading the two through the city. He was rather an unusual sight to behold, if not slightly suspicious. Finally, they reached the entrance of an old dingy pub. It was a dark brick building on Charing Cross Road, with a slightly paint-chipped steaming cauldron on the sign above the door.

_The Leaky Cauldron_ _._

"You can't be serious—are you really trying to kidnap us, sir?" Tom remarked, straight faced and with only a hint of sarcasm. "You must be new to this. You see, we don't have any value. We're orphans."

"Ha-ha! Oh no, Tom, of course not,” Dumbledore laughed, simply. “This isn’t just a pub. It’s the entrance to Diagon Alley. Come along, you’ll see…"

They entered the building, despite Tom's continued skepticism. The inside was even shabbier then it had appeared on the outside. It was rather empty, considering it was mid-morning, rather few people sat in chairs scattered around the room. A man, who seemed to be missing a couple of teeth, had noticed them right away. Frankie and Tom both nervously shifted behind Dumbledore, in his approach of the suspicious character. Tom wasn’t really that frightened, however, if the barkeep was going to advance on them he wanted to be in a position to grab Frankie and make a run for it.

"Ah, Albus. I haven't seen you in a while. Care for a pint?" he greeted them, with a broad grin, tossing his washrag over his shoulder.

"Not today, Tom. I have business to attend to." Dumbledore replied, politely turning down his request. He stepped out of the way to reveal Tom and Frankie were slightly hidden behind him.

"Hello there, you two. Let me guess, first years?" the man smiled, probably noticing their nervous demeanor. The two nodded silently.

"Tom, meet Tom." Dumbledore added, presenting the two to each other. Who he was talking to, no one was certain. It could've gone either way. Dumbledore had told Tom, the younger one, about this other Tom on the way over here and this must’ve been him. For some reason, he already hated this other Tom, after only one mention. He was living proof that his name was too common, even among wizards, "And meet Frankie too, of course. Now, we'd better be off, Tom."

"See you soon, Albus." Tom remarked, waving his dirty rag in the air as the three set off to the other end of the pub. Dumbledore opened the rear door into a sort of backyard area, if that was what you could call it. There was nothing but a small space surrounded by a wall of brick with nothing more than a couple barrels and a few empty crates. Dumbledore walked in, followed by Frankie, with Tom in the back, who was getting skeptical yet again.

There was no way this could be the entrance to Diagon Alley, unless this was the alley and this Dumbledore character had really made fools of them. It could still all be one ginormous ruse. He could take out a chloroformed rag and they'd wake up in "Hogwarts" all right. He and Frankie were far too clever to be taken to an asylum using the normal methods. However, instead of a rag, Dumbledore took out his wand and tapped the bricks. A few seconds of silent staring passed…

"Oh, I must have gotten the order wrong again." he joked, with a chuckle. He tried again and, before Tom could get out one last sarcastic remark, the bricks actually started moving out of the way. They created an archway into a crowded alleyway with people dressed in heavy cloaks and robes, carrying their new trinkets away from various shops. This would've seemed like a normal London winter scene, if they weren't wearing winter gear in the August sun and flourishing wands to help with some of the baggage. The shops were undoubtedly magic as well. One nearby had cages filled with owls, cats, and other curious creatures. Another across the street had cauldrons of all sizes and there was probably so much more down the winding cobble road.

"This is Diagon Alley. You will come here for your school things every year."

The two stuck close behind him, as they began walking into the crowded street, but their eyes wandered all around, trying to see every little thing at once. Tom’s skepticism was practically nonexistent now. There was magic over here and magic over there. Magic was oozing out of every little crack it could, just to prove him wrong. For the first time ever, he and Frankie were walking down the street where everyone was like them. It was amazing, it was fantastic, and most of all it was _magical_ _._

_Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions_ _._

"Hello, Albus. It's been a long time." a woman greeted them, as they entered the door. The shop looked like any other clothing store, except instead it had a mixture of splendorous gowns and magnificent robes on racks. There was even a platform with mirrors too, which currently had a young girl getting a few last adjustments to what appeared to be the school robes. The woman, who was probably Madam Malkin, was squatted as she pulled pins from out of her reddish-brown braid tossed carelessly over her shoulder. "Let me guess, more Hogwarts students?"

Tom and Frankie both nodded awkwardly.

"Just leave them with me, Albus. I'm almost done with Miss Thompson." Dumbledore nodded in agreement and said he would be waiting for them a shop called _Flourish and Blotts_ , across the way from where they entered the alley. They watched as she finished pinning and grabbed out a needle. She did the first few stitches, but then it started going on its own, even taking out pins as it went. Madam Malkin left the needle to sew and she went into the backroom for just a moment. The girl stood completely still, however, he dark eyes flashed to Frankie and Tom's reflections standing behind her.

"What do you think?" she asked them. The girl pushed a lock of her short sooty hair from her face and winced. The needle must have stabbed her in the leg. The two remained quiet, not quite sure what to say to her. "Not very talkative…Are you first years too?"

"Yes, we are." Tom stated, finally speaking up for the both of them. It was kind of intimidating, talking to someone their age from the magical world for the first time. It was another girl with magic, another 'freak' like them.

"How nice. I'm also going to be a first year, my name is Prue. Prue Thompson." she smiled, back at him. Tom's skeptic look returned. Girls didn't smile at him, nor did they dare to look him in the eye, so what was with her? At that thought, Madam Malkin returned and stopped the needle, cut a few threads and Prue was finally finished. She hopped off the stand and went to go back and change. However, before leaving, she turned back to Tom and Frankie, "Goodbye, my wallflowers. I hope you both end up in Ravenclaw. I know that's where I'm going to be…"

"Raven—what?"

Tom's question was left hanging on a loose thread as the girl named Prue Thompson left for the changing rooms. Then, Madam Malkin pinned the two into silence as she worked on getting them fitted for their school robes as well.

As soon as she was finished, they took off immediately for _Flourish and Blotts_ to meet Dumbledore and even though it was only the second shop of the day it was clearly the best for them. Books were one of the only things Tom actually liked in the world and this store was stacked with millions and millions of them. All about this new world, all unread to him. There was no limit and yet it was such a small, clustered shop. Everything they could've ever wanted to know about magic was lying in the books on these shelves. So, they started grabbing every single title that crossed their eyes and peaked their interest. They would speed-read parts of them, quickly memorize the facts within, and quickly move onto the next, knowing their time here was very limited and they certainly didn’t have enough money to buy all these books.

"Look at this one, Tom. _Dark Wizards throughout the Ages_ _!_ " Frankie stated, reading the title of a big leather book at the top of a stack near them. The book was filled with the profiles of criminals and the details of their most gruesome histories. _‘Why had she chosen that one?’_ Tom wondered, silently, as they sat down together on a couple of low wobbly stacks and started to skim the pages. Tom was actually amazed at some of the stuff these wizards had done and what they had gotten away with. The both of them got caught up reading it, forgetting they were ever actually looking for someone, until he found them.

"It appears you two are getting by on your own…"

They were just about to read the profile of the “Great Grigor”, when they looked up to see Dumbledore was hovering above them. His expression flashed slightly panicked, as he saw the book in their hands, like any educator would for letting two eleven year olds get their hands on such a book. However, instead of swiping it away or yelling, he simply returned his expression to a normal, calm one. It was surely nothing to worry about. Yet out of all the books, in all of the store…He had thankfully caught them just in time. She was still acting normally, despite the page opened, and he should be too. "Would it be alright if you two finished up the rest of the shopping on your own? Something very urgent has come up at the school and I must deal with it."

"I've been saying all along that we don't need a babysitter! Go away now, _sir_." Tom sneered, angrily.

"Tom!" Frankie snapped at him, giving him a very disapproving look. "Don't worry, sir. We'll be able to manage without you."

He wrote down some directions to the different shops they needed to go to and gave them their lists back. Just as he handed them everything they would need to survive the rest of the trip, a large woman that was trying to get a book on the shelf stepped right between Tom, Frankie and Dumbledore. It was just for a split second, but by the time she had gotten the book she needed and excused herself for getting in their way, he was gone.

So was the book on dark wizards, but they were both to distracted by the vanishing act to notice the open book no longer sitting in Frankie’s lap.

"How did he do that?" Frankie asked, instantly forgetting that they were in the wizarding world now. Dumbledore disappearing amongst the crowd was definitely not the most obscure or spectacular thing they’d seen today. She looked out into the crowd and peered behind nearby stacks, but he was obviously gone. Tom, on the other hand, went for a book he had just put down before Frankie had called him over. He had just come across the term a moment ago…

"It's called Disapparition. It’s the ability to transport yourself instantaneously from one place to another. We'll be able to learn how to do it when we’re in our sixth year at Hogwarts." Tom concluded, after he finished shuffling through the pages. He shut the book and put it back to where he found it. "Now, let's finally get our textbooks and get out of here. At this rate, we’ll be here till nightfall..."

It only took them a second to find their textbooks and, after a brutal shoving war to get in line to pay for them, they were off once again. Frankie and Tom finally got some progress made after they left Flourish and Blotts. The other shops weren't as interesting to them, so it was more of just looking for what they needed and getting it as quickly as possible. The last shop Dumbledore had written down was a shop called Ollivanders. It was supposedly the wand maker’s shop. They walked further down the alley, until they found the small old shop with shiny golden letters on the front:

_Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C._

They walked inside and saw thousands of small black boxes surrounding them, covered in a thin layer of dust. Despite how boring it might have looked, Tom was actually somewhat excited for this shop in particular. He had seen Dumbledore's wand in action and it was far greater magic then he could've ever done. A wand was what he really had wanted out of today. It was extraordinary to think that in those boxes was the power source of every future wizard and witch. An old man sat sleeping in a swivel chair at the front counter, completely unaware of the fact two people had entered his store. Tom stepped up to the counter of the old man, looked closely at his sleeping face, and dinged the bell on the table. The man instantly awoke, took one look at Tom, and started screaming.

" _He approaches! The one who will start war and hardships throughout the nation. Evil demon! Give him no wand to kill."_

Suddenly, a broad young man came out of nowhere, with a desperate motion to shut the man up before he went any further. His pale-silver eyes glared at the older man and he quickly shoved the swivel chair into the nearby closet. He put a broom up against the door, for good measure, and let out a huge sigh of relief as he pushed a lock of his wavy golden-brown hair from his face.

"My apologies. Father is getting a bit senile, as of late. He told the last girl that came in that she was going to kill her entire family…What can I do for you?" the man apologized, returning to the counter. Tom and Frankie seemed taken aback by this odd character, as they had been with most of the people they had met today. He just stuffed his own father in a closet and was trying to pull the charming salesman act. Was everyone in magical world like this?

"We're here for wands." Tom stated, as if it wasn't already pretty obvious.

"First years?" he questioned. The two nodded silently, returning to their slightly nervous demeanors. "I just recently graduated from Hogwarts myself. I was in Ravenclaw. Now, I'm taking over the family business."

"What in the hell is a Ra—?”

"Have you made any wands yet?" Frankie asked, cutting across another one of Tom's rude outbursts.

"I've only a few, so far. However, I'm not sure I have a talent for it, like my father did." he answered, scratching the back of his neck, nervously.

"Can we try them?"

"I suppose if you really want too. I wouldn't count on any of them being the right fit, though." the man answered, sounding surprised. "Angry Boy, you're up first."

"My name is Tom Riddle." Tom hissed at him. Although, the man wasn't listening. He had run back among the shelves and disappeared into the backroom. They waited a few minutes and he returned with an armful of boxes. He set them on the other end of the counter, except one, which he brought back to Tom and handed it to him.

"13½", Yew, Phoenix feather core. It's a nice one." the man added, taking out the wand and holding it out. It was a sharp looking; dulling white wand that looked like it had a bone for a handle. Tom looked at it skeptically, but nonetheless took the wand into his hand. The second he held it, the wand poured the room in a brilliant warm light, so bright that it caught the eye of wizards in the shop across the street. A couple men even came rushing in because they thought the shop was on fire, but Ollivander shooed them away, insisting it was all fine. Eventually, the light disappeared and the room returned to normal,  "That's definitely a yes. It seems like it really likes you."

"Likes me?" Tom questioned. It was true he could feel the connection between himself and the wand. It felt like it grabbed him right back and immediately became an extension of his slender skeletal arm. However, what did Ollivander mean by it likes him? That was just a strange comment. It was a wand, not a person.

"Now you, miss." he exclaimed, gesturing for her to come up to him. Frankie stepped up to the counter, while Tom retreated back with his new wand. The man went back over to the pile of boxes and grabbed another box. "Perhaps his wand's brother would suite you. Holly, 11”, Phoenix feather core. The same phoenix, actually. Don't ask me what happened, I don't know either."

She waved the wand and a small light illuminated from the tip, but it grew dark a few moments later. Frankie placed it upon the counter with a discouraged sigh. She tried another, and another, and another. Nothing. It came down to the last wand in the pile of wands made by this guy and then she'd have to try the ones made by the senile old man in the closet. The last wand was a pitch black wand with a silvery moon spinning tree roots onto the handle and a tiny red jewel at the end. He merely placed it in her hand and it shined bright, possibly even brighter than Tom's wand had been. There were several people and street vendors across the way were complaining minutes after the light faded about not being able to see.

"Oh, thank heavens, the thing actually works!" he laughed, hysterically. Tom looked at him like he was crazy, laughing madman, while Frankie stared at her wand. What was supposed to be so defective about it? It looked normal enough. "I've been experimenting a bit with wands. I want to create a new technique with new materials, to make even stronger wands. That one's a weird one alright. 13", Pear, Unicorn hair core. I also threw something a little extra in there."

"What is it?"

"Raven's blood and moon dust."

"Congratulations, Frankie. You got the only ingredient that actually sounds real and the most absurd piece of nonsense I ever heard." Tom stated, sarcastically clapping at her. "Really, though. Moon dust, unicorn hair, phoenix feather. What idiot would believe in all that stuff?"

"Clearly, you haven't been in this world very long, my friend." the man laughed, like Tom was the crazy one. "First of all, wizards have already achieved space travel. And secondly, magical creatures you think are myths are actually about as common as bunny rabbits. There are even unicorns in the forest at Hogwarts. Read a book, why don't you."

"We've just read practically half the bookstore." Tom responded. He quickly searched his mind trying to recall if he'd seen anything about unicorns or phoenixes. Sure enough he remembered reading something about the magical healing powers of phoenix tears. "Alright, the magical creature thing I'll settle on, but you can honestly expect me to believe you've been to the moon."

"Not me, my grandfather. He went and brought this dust back for new wand materials, you see he liked experimenting too. Unfortunately, he could never get it to work right…"

"It figures." Tom muttered, under his breath. Frankie gave him a pejorative look, being the only one who heard him. However, the man didn't notice and continued talking, thinking they were truly interested in wand lure.

"I've finally found how to make it work, though. The raven's blood! It brings out the dust's true magic. Usually, unicorn hairs aren't very powerful like phoenix and dragon. However, soaking the hairs in the blood and coating them in the dust makes for a powerful wand!" he explained, growing more and more enthusiastic as he talked on. Tom kept screaming in his head how this guy was mad, while Frankie kept staring at the wand. "This is a mighty special wand and it has chosen the perfect witch."

"Me?"

"Who else? Of course you. Like my dad says, 'The wand chooses the wizard'."

"That's a very interesting statement. You seem pretty passionate about wands," Frankie laughed, "and I thought you said that you didn't have a talent for this."

"I suppose I was just being modest. I'm pretty spectacular, aren’t I?" he laughed, with a foolish grin. They were both laughing, however, Tom had reached the end of his patience. He was through with all this nonsense. It didn't matter what was in them. He had is wand, she had hers, this was over.

"It's time to go."

Tom returned his wand and Frankie followed him and did the same. The man placed the wands back into their boxes, push them off to the side and started to ring them up the cash register. Tom smacked down the galleons onto the counter and the second the boxes were given to them, he started to pull Frankie out. "Come along, Frankie…"

"I'm Garrick Ollivander, by the way. Hope I see you both again soon." he added, waving them goodbye. Frankie smiled and waved goodbye as well, as Tom tugged her away.

"That man was a complete nutter." Tom exclaimed to her, when they were at a far enough distance.

"Don't be cruel, Tom. I found him rather nice." she argued back at him.

"Of course, you would..."he muttered. Practically everyone was nice in Frankie's eyes. She obviously wasn't as judgmental as he was.

They walked until they saw a clearing. The space spread out into a stone park or a town square with street artists and performers. Tom and Frankie found a bench nearby and stopped to check Dumbledore's list for how to get back to the orphanage. Unfortunately, he seemed to have left out that little bit…

"Maybe we should ask someone for directions." Tom suggested, looking around for someone to ask. Their best bet was probably the man with the camera that was yelling at the crowd near them,

"Moving picture souvenir! Takes only a minute to develop and it won't cost ya' a thing."

"Let's go take a picture, Tom. See them, they actually move!" Frankie exclaimed, cheerfully. She pointed to the examples of pictures that the man had on his board. There were couples doing waltzes and groups of friends who were smiling and waving at them.

"No. We have to figure out how to get back to London." Tom replied, looking back at Dumbledore's list as if it would give him some sort of a clue.

"Aw, don't be a stick in the mud, Tom." she pouted. "We can also ask him for directions if you want. He's bound to know the way."

"Fine then." he sighed, sounding rather tired. There was no point fighting her on this. Tom had already practically dragged her from Ollivander and had been in a fouler mood ever since. It was the least he could've done. Not to mention how determined she seemed to do this and the fact that he was just a little bit curious about how they got the pictures to move.

"Hello there, you two! Would you like a picture?" the man inquired, as they walked up to him. Tom and Frankie nodded and walked in front of the camera. "Okay, just stand right there then. Perfect! Now, why don't you two dance? It's popular for photos."

Tom could feel himself slightly blushing through his pale white skin. He didn't know how to dance. However, Frankie was suddenly spewing confidence and pulled him closer. They started to do a strange combination of spinning and dancing. Tom looked at her funny; there was something different about her in this moment. He just seemed to notice she was only a little shorter than him. Her hazel hair radiated in the sunlight to show that there was actually quite a lot of red and blond hidden within it that made up the light color. Something that could only be captured by the sun or else he probably never would have noticed. In short, in this moment, he was just seeming to notice all the little things that made her beautiful.

Suddenly, she stopped spinning them and stared at him too.

"Are you alright, Tom?" Frankie asked, seeming to be confused by his constant staring at her.

"I'm fine. Can we go back now?" Tom answered, adverting his gaze over at the crowd instead. For some reason, he couldn’t take looking at her any longer.

"Yes." Frankie smiled back. She never seemed to be effected by his horrid attitude. Tom thought he would know why by now, but, like most of her, it remained a mystery. Although, she was considered his one and only friend, she never really talked about her past before she came to the orphanage. He decided not to press on it, considering he had not given her much of a past to go off either. Their friendship was in the here and now, and that was all that currently mattered to them. 

While they waited for the picture to develop, they asked the man for directions back to London. It turned out the way out was just the same way they came in. Frankie was a few feet away, busy trying to look over the crowd to see exactly where the alley was, leaving Tom to collect the picture for them.

"Here's your picture," the man exclaimed, handing Tom a copy of the photo and a small little box. Before Tom could question what the box was all about, the moving picture man answered, vaguely with a wink, "Think of it as a little extra souvenir."

Tom accepted the box, even though he wasn't too sure what it was, and placed it and the photo carefully into his cauldron with the rest of his things. They thanked the man and started to head back to the side alley from which they had first arrived. The two walked briskly back through Diagon Alley with the urgency to get back as the sun was setting. They got to the entrance when Frankie suddenly turned around to face him.

"Are you ready to go back, Tom?"

"Yes, I'm ready." Tom replied, truthfully. It was too much to handle in just one day. It was like they had been just been dropped into a foreign country and expected to fend for themselves. It might've been better if Dumbledore had stayed. Tom couldn't deal with all these people who were just as different as him and Frankie and yet still managed to be different from them. In this moment, this world was exhausting him. However,

He knew he was already in love with it.


	5. The Last Night at Wool's Orphanage

Mrs. Cole was naturally furious when the two returned three hours later then they were supposed to and without Dumbledore there with them. You could just see it in her eyes that she assumed the absolute worst had happened. Most likely she assumed Tom and Frankie had given the kind, handsome educator the slip and went gallivanting through the city causing mayhem and destruction, like the hell spawns they were. Even though they had two caldrons filled with extraordinarily, odd things, like robes, wands, scales and telescopes, they went unnoticed by the muggle eye of an ignorant old hag. Mrs. Cole was practically yanking the both of them in the door, shouting about how they weren’t going to be eating any meals, when Tom spotted a small envelope lying on the doorstep, with both of his and Frankie’s names scrawled across it in a dark emerald ink. He immediately turned back and dove to retrieve it, but Mrs. Cole slammed the door closed in his face before he got the chance. He glared at her in annoyance for a brief moment, before deciding to take action. Quite suddenly, there was a large crash followed by some wailing and howls of pain coming from the next room. Tom might've 'cursed' a block tower to fall on Billy Stubb, but no one would ever have the evidence to prove it. Mrs. Cole was forced to rush into the room to see what had happened, meanwhile Tom snuck the door back open and grabbed the letter. He and Frankie sat crouched near the door to read it,

_I hope you both managed to find all your school things and return safely back to Wool's Orphanage. I apologize for leaving you so suddenly, but there was an emergency that could not have been avoided. Enclosed are your tickets for the Hogwarts Express. The train will leave King's Cross Station from platform 9 ¾ at precisely 11:00am on September the 1st, so please arrive well before then. I would escort you myself, but I fear I will still be dealing with the matter at school and I find myself a little tied up at the moment. However, I'm confident you two will do well on your own._

_I look forward to seeing you two at school in a week._

_Best regards, Professor Albus Dumbledore_

Tom took out the two tickets and handed one to Frankie. She stared at it oddly, probably in disbelief and he couldn't help but do the exact same with his own ticket. All of this was still pretty unbelievable, even after spending the entire day in Diagon Alley. Tom, for one, was still waiting for the catch. Logically thinking, there had to be at least one. A school for magic, filled with other kids just like them, kids who were different and freakish. Prue Thompson was already seemingly unreal, the girl they had met a few hours ago at Madam Malkin’s. She had been friendly and did not look at them with disgust, like everyone in the orphanage did. Would that really be everyone’s reactions? Yeah, they could still hate them, but it wouldn’t be for being able to use magic.

They were too busy staring at their tickets to notice Mrs. Cole had returned from the small diversion Tom had created for her and was now hovering over them. Frankie looked up, probably noticing her looming shadow, and tugged on Tom's sleeve, to alert him as well. He looked up as well and the two simultaneously jumped up and took a step back from her. Tom quickly concealed the letter, by slipping it into his cauldron, and they took a couple more steps back for safe measure.

"Now, that you have your school things, the two of you should really start packing." Mrs. Cole insisted, sounding a little too eager. She had that hint of joy and excitement in her voice, as well. She wanted them out of the orphanage more than anyone, even possible more than they wanted to be out themselves. Even if it was only till next summer, it was better than having them around all year causing her trouble.

"We'll pack when we bloody well feel like it." Tom snapped back at her. Mrs. Cole looked affronted by his comment and drew closer to the pair with the back of her hand at the ready. Tom instinctively blocked her from Frankie. Even though he had said it, that wouldn't stop her from punishing both of them. However, this time she unexpectedly stopped mere inches from Tom's face, smirked at the pair of them, and simply walked away. The slight fear and paranoia was apparently enough. Frankie lowered Tom’s blocking arm for him because he seemed to be frozen.

"Sorry. I thought she was going to…"

"Thank you, Tom. However, I'm fully capable of protecting myself."

"Sure you are…" he replied, sounding a little sarcastic and unconvinced. Although, he knew that she could very well protect herself. Ever since the Billy Stubb incident, he knew that she was fully capable of holding her own when she needed to. He didn't know what had come over him. His body had just seemed to act of its own accord. A little embarrassed, he started up the stairs alone. "Come on, let's go pack."

Frankie caught up and they both retreated upstairs to start packing their things. Certainly not because Mrs. Cole had told them to, but because they honestly had nothing else better to do. After the events of Diagon Alley, the last week before going off to Hogwarts, began the strangest week at the orphanage they ever had. Normally, they were treated like infectious diseases, however, before their departure Tom and Frankie couldn't seem to find a minute alone. Everyone was suddenly latching to them as if they were best buddies all along. The girls swarmed Frankie, while even Tom got a few boys work up the nerve to bother him. Perhaps they were hoping that if they were nice enough to them that they’d sneak them out in their trunks.

Thankfully, the week went by fast…

It was soon drawing midnight of the night before they left and Frankie was lying in her bed, unable to sleep. Soon it'd be officially the day they left for Hogwarts and start developing their futures as wizards. The reality of it all was still not sinking in. Frankie had always expected that when she grew up she would have no use for her powers and she'd be able to live a normal life. She might've even slightly hoped that they would just gradually disappear with time. In all honesty, sometimes she was afraid of her own magic. It scared her. She still didn't have as much control over it as Tom did. Her parents never let her use her magic, as a child, so she never got as much practice in using it. She was convinced it was something wicked and evil, until she met Tom. When she saw that creep Billy picking on him, she just knew she had to do something. Thankfully, Tom had magic too. If he hadn’t, he probably would’ve rejected her. After finding out, he began teaching her that using magic and having it was a privilege bestowed to them upon god and hiding it was foolish. Finally, for the first time in forever, she’d had someone who encouraged her powers and thought she was special. And, going to Hogwarts, she would finally have people all around her encouraging her magic and be able to finally let go of this fear for good.

Of course, she couldn't sleep a wink. How could she?

She had been laying there for hours, but it was obviously no use. She wasn’t going to be sleeping. Frankie finally leapt up out of bed, with a small frustrated grunt, and left her room. She walked next door to Tom's room and opened his door, without knocking, like usual. It was just as she thought, he couldn't sleep either. He was sitting on his bed reading, _Hogwarts, A History,_ in the dim lamp light. It wasn't a required book but he’d 'bought' it anyway to learn more about the school.

"Can't sleep?" Tom sighed, closing the book and getting off his bed to go meet her. Frankie shook her head and walked right past him to grab the book. Tom backtracked and went to sit next to her on the floor by his bed to her as she re-opened the book where he had marked it.

"It's going to be amazing." Frankie stated, as she smiled down at a picture of the school on the open page. But then she grew a small frown. "Everything is going to change tomorrow, isn't it?"

"It'll change for the better. Don't worry." Tom assured her. She had sounded sad, or was it tired? He flipped the pages of the book in attempt to show her something that might lift her spirits a little. Frankie was excited about it. Tom was sure she was. He just needed something to get her back to that feeling in this moment.

"I can't help but be worried. I'm nervous about going," she admitted, suddenly sounding so much tired then she had been before. Tom could see her eyes start to droop as she tried gazing upon the enchanted pictures. "What if it's not everything we hoped that it would be?"

He had to take action. This was surely going to be the greatest day of their entire lives and he wouldn’t have her regretting it, not even for a second. Maybe whatever the man at the moving picture stand had given him would relieve her nervousness about going to Hogwarts. He hadn't had the opportunity to open it yet, what with the many distractions they had encountered over the week. Now, was as good a time as ever to see what it was.

"Here." he spoke, nervously, taking the box out of his pocket and basically shoving it in her face. Luckily, she was too nice and too tired to care.

"What is it?" Frankie asked him, letting out ginormous yawn. Tom was surprised she had even managed that.

" _Maybe she's sleepwalking_ _."_ he thought, for a moment. That did seem rather like her and she didn't seem to be very aware of her surroundings. However, she was one of those people who didn't function whatsoever when they're tired. There was no way she'd be able to speak even somewhat coherently if she was sleepwalking. So, he tossed the thought aside a few moments later.

"I don't know. That man that took our picture gave it to me." Tom replied. To be honest he was a bit curious about the contents of the small box as well. It was from the wizarding world. Surely, it must have been something full of magic. "I thought we could open it together."

They opened up the box to find a small heart-shaped locket of a dulled gold, with the picture of them dancing inside.

"Pretty." she chimed, in a rather muddled sort of way before just collapsing asleep on his shoulder. Tom mentally panicked a little. He didn’t know it was going to be a clearly romantic gift. The man probably thought they were a couple, which was entirely wrong. He sat there frozen, just staring down at her sleeping expression. He didn't know what the proper protocol was for this type of situation. Should he wake her up or let her sleep? And how was he supposed to explain the locket to her in the morning?

He fell asleep trying to decide what to do…

Tom woke up the next morning, leaning against the side of his bed, with one horrible backache and the spot where Frankie sat now vacant. She must have woken up earlier to get ready. Mrs. Cole was screaming at the top of her lungs for him to get the hell downstairs and she wasn't yelling for Frankie, so she must have already been down there. Tom quickly got dressed, grabbed his trunk, and headed downstairs. When he got downstairs he saw Frankie already stuffing her trunk in the car until the driver offered to put it in. She agreed, embarrassed she had even tried, and noticed Tom standing at the bottom of the stairs. Tom pushed his trunk towards the door, trying not to return her gaze, until he was actually standing right in front of her.

"Good morning!" Frankie beamed, sounding wide awake and chipper. Tom looked at her funny. Was last night just a dream? Maybe he had fallen asleep and it had all been a weird hallucination. Then he saw the locket around her neck. She twirled it around and her fingers and smiled.

"Good morning." he replied back. The driver behind them gestured for Tom's trunk as well and Tom shuffled past her. She seemed to be unaffected by his rather odd behavior. Thankfully, it seemed like she wasn’t going to bring last night up.

"Are you excited?" Frankie asked, as they watched the driver try to fit a second trunk into the car.

"Somewhat." Tom answered, hesitantly. A school filled with kids just like them still seemed so unreal, despite being minutes away from seeing an entire train station full of them. "What house do you think you'll get put into, Frankie?"

"What house?" she asked, sounding confused.

"I finally know what a bloody Ravenclaw is." Tom sighed, thinking on his unanswered question from Diagon Alley. He had just gotten to the section on houses last night when she had come in. "Apparently, at Hogwarts there are four houses that we can be sorted into. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin."

"I suppose it doesn't really matter to me.” Frankie answered, after giving it a moments thought. It was a typical answer from her. "I just want to be there. It won't matter what house I'm in."

"You’re right. It doesn't really matter." Tom remarked, trying his best to smile and look as happy as he felt. It didn't matter what house they were in. The car was packed and they were heading off to the best school in all of Great Britain.


	6. The Train From Platform 9 3/4

Frankie and Tom arrived at the busily buzzing King’s Cross Station a few minutes later and were left at the front with their trunks to face the challenge alone. Although, it’s not like that fact terrified them at all. It wasn’t like it was any different from usual. By the age of eleven, they had already been forced to achieve more independence and maturity than most others their age, especially Tom. It’s not like he could ever really rely on Mrs. Cole for anything, she wasn’t some kind of mother figure he could turn to, despite having technically raised him. From her, to the workers, to all the children currently residing at Wool’s Orphanage, there wasn’t one that didn’t think that he didn’t deserved to be alone for what he was and did their best to leave them that way. Of course, nowadays, Tom’s version of alone was generally accompanied by a cheerful, bubbly girl.

They started trying to look for their platform over the mounds of people shuffling in and out of the station, while still trying to remain in each other's sight as well. Tom knew if he didn't keep his watch out for Frankie she'd get lost in the thick crowd and they would miss the train. The two headed for straight for platform 9 ¾, however, ended up going right through platform 9 to platform 10. Which, naturally, was something they just didn't understand. Neither of them had seen a sign for a platform 9 ¾. Not a 9 ¼, or 9 ½ train either. Just platform 9 and 10, nothing in-between.

"What's going on here?" Tom remarked, angrily. He checked his ticket once more, just to be sure it said platform 9 ¾. The numbers were the same as they had been when he checked it a couple minutes ago. 9 ¾.

"Wait here a second. I'll go ask a guard about it." Frankie added. She left Tom with the carts and started shuffling her way towards a nearby guard to go ask where the platform was. The guard that she had chosen to ask had to be ten times larger than she was and whose face was already scrunched up with anger before she even got within two feet of him. Was that just what his face looked like or was he already upset over something? Regardless, Frankie mustered up all the courage she could and asked him rather politely,

"Excuse me, sir. Could you please tell me where platform 9 ¾ is?"

The large guard glared heavily at her, as if she had called him something immensely grotesque and foul.

"What kind of joke is this? You're the 10th kid to ask me that today and I've had it!" the guard barked at her, sending big globs of angry spit flying in Frankie's face. “I shouldn’t have to put up with this!”

Although, still rather confused by the man's angry outburst at her, she simply wiped her face off and turned to start walking back to Tom. If he knew nothing of it, did it not exist? But if at least ten other kids had been looking for it as well it must've been around here somewhere. Frankie was a bit discouraged and wasn't paying attention to the bustling crowd around her. Suddenly, all she could all she could see grey wool of someone's coat. She had collided with someone and they both were pushed onto their backsides from the impact of the hit.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention!" Frankie apologized, frantically. She got up and offered a hand to help the other person up as well. A beautiful girl with fading blue eyes and wavy blonde hair sat there in the chaos, staring up at Frankie peculiarly. She took her hand, lifted herself up and returned to the reigns of her cart beside her. The cart had a trunk, much like Frankie and Tom's, except for the cat perched in a crate fastened to it. She was still looking at Frankie peculiarly, then she saw the ticket clutched it Frankie's right hand.

"You must be going to Hogwarts as well. Do you need help getting onto the platform?" the girl inquired. Frankie nodded silently. "Then, get your cart and follow me."

Who was this girl? She seemed so collected and regal. If she really did go to Hogwarts, she must have been at least a third year or higher. Frankie ran back over to Tom, grabbed her cart and started to follow the slightly mysterious girl. However, Tom grabbed her arm and stopped her.

"Where are you going now?" Tom asked, as if he thought she was trying to ditch him on purpose.

"Just follow me, okay?" Frankie replied, sounding confident. He let go of her, with a sigh. What on earth was she doing? Frankie looked around, until she spotted the girl again. She was stopped a few feet in front the pillar between platform 9 and 10. The girl took a deep breath and started to run straight at the pillar, but instead of crashing into it she went right through. Frankie rubbed her eyes and ran over to the pillar and started to place her hands over it. She didn't understand. The pillar was rock solid yet the girl had run right inside. Frankie went back to the place where the girl had started her run. This must have been how to get onto the platform. She knew she only had about thirty more minutes, until the train would leave. Running at a brick wall seemed absolutely mad, but it didn’t look like she had any other options. The minutes were ticking away fast and it was now or never. Frankie was right about to start running, when Tom grabbed her arm stopping her, once again.

"Are you crazy? What are you trying to do?" Tom yelled at her, angrily. He had obviously not seen the mysterious blonde girl just go in to the wall.

"Trust me, Tom," Frankie smiled back, although she wasn’t that confident herself. Tom was the skeptical type, but he’d believe her once he’d seen it happen for himself, "I know what I'm doing."

Tom slowly released her and she ran as fast as she could into that pillar. He was worried. He could just picture her crashing into that wall, slamming into her cart and getting horribly injured. However, a rather peculiar, yet miraculous, thing occurred. Frankie went right through the wall, like it wasn't even there. His eyes widened in amazement. She was gone. He ran to the wall to feel it. Solid brick.

Now, it was his turn.

He ran for it, his cart going at full speed, he closed his eyes at the embrace of the impending hit. Surely, he would be the one to hit the wall and have to be returned to the orphanage, injured and alone. However, he had gone through just like Frankie had. When Tom opened his eyes, he was on a whole new platform and standing in a whole new crowd. Kids and parents were carrying broomsticks, wheeling carts, hugging goodbye. He looked at the sign above the platform was 9 ¾. The scarlet red steam engine read: _Hogwarts Express_ _,_ on the front of it. Finally, they had made it. All the doubt and skepticism forever gone. They were officially going off to magic school. He noticed Frankie waiting patiently to the side of the pillar, waiting to see if he came out alright. She looked at him and gave him a triumphant smile.

"See? I told you so." she bragged a little, sticking out her tongue childishly.

"Come on, let's go…" Tom stated, quickly, not wanting to admit she was right. They walked onto the train and luckily found a completely empty compartment to sit in. Kids just like them kept zooming by them in the corridor, looking for new and old friends. They even saw Prue Thompson wave by once. Most of them already had magical objects out, unlike them. They didn't have anything but textbooks and wands they had no idea how to use yet. Frankie was even still in her normal clothes, instead of her wizarding robes. They sat in the window seats facing each other, watching the many parents saying their last goodbyes as the train sped away. Once the journey had actually started, they began to talk about all the things they would see once they got there to pass the time.

"Be careful of the moving staircases. Knowing you, you'll fall off one—"

Tom stopped talking, as he noticed Frankie had fallen asleep on the window and was obviously no longer listening to him. It was quite typical of her. She was type of person that could sleep anywhere, no matter what they were doing or what was going on. Of course, it didn't really help that they had been up late last night. Tom was unconsciously watching her sleep, until he realized she was still in her regular clothes and they were at least half way there. Unlike Tom, she had not decided to change before leaving, said it was embarrassing walking around King’s Cross in robes, or something like that. Since he had woken up late, he decided to change before they left. It's not like he cared if the regular people saw him in wizard robes.

"Frankie! _Wake up_." Tom whispered, as he shook her shoulder a little. Her eyes slowly fluttered open.

"Huh…Are we there yet?" she asked, groggily, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"No, you just need to go change into your robes." Tom replied, returning to his book like it was no big deal. She sat there for a moment, trying to process what he was saying with her muzzy brain, before she grabbed her robes and ran down the corridor to the bathroom in a rather dramatic and animatic fashion.

A few minutes later, Frankie was quickly running back to the compartment, freshly changed and ready to face school. Naturally, running top speed in a moving locomotive with several others onboard was not the best idea. For the second time in the past few hours, she suddenly felt the soft mix of fabric and flesh and a loud distinctive crash of something new mixed in. The new element of her latest victim was that, whoever they were, they had been carrying a giant bundle of candy in their arms. This time candy seemed too rain down upon them as the two collided together.

"Oh gosh! Not again. I'm so sorry," Frankie said, franticly trying to pick up all the candy at once in her small arms. She looked at the victim of her clumsiness. This time it was a boy with a mess of brownish-blonde hair, who was wearing his shirt rather loosely with the sleeves all scrunched up his arm.

"Again? Do you make a habit of falling over gentlemen?" the boy inquired, with a bit of a laugh and a joking air. Frankie stared at him a bit closer, realizing this was the first time she was talking to another boy from this world that was her own age. He had the same hazel eyes and a comforting, familiar feeling.

"No, I just rammed into a girl at the station too." Frankie answered, as she broke her stare and continued trying to pick up the all the candy.

"Boy, are you clumsy…" he laughed. Frankie glared at him and continued to pick up the candy in silence. However, he sensed her change in attitude. "It was a joke."

Frankie eased up a bit on the death glare, "So, where'd you get all this candy anyway?" she asked, in an attempt to make a little casual conversation.

"Didn't you know? There's an old lady who pushes a cart full of candy to the compartments,” he explained, finally deciding to help her pick up the candy. “My friends and I missed the cart so they made me chase her down to bring them some."

"Wow, that sounds amazing! I can't believe I missed her," Frankie said, making a pouting sort of face. She handed him her portion of the candy she had picked up and they both carefully stood back up. Frankie turned to walk back, having apologized and helped clean up. Tom was probably wondering where she was. "Well, I guess I'll see you at Hogwarts sometime. Good—"

"Wait!" the boy yelled after her. He rummaged through the pile of candy he was holding, pulled out a box of something, and tossed it to her. Frankie turned around just in time to catch it in her hands. The box read,

_Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans._

"I feel kind of bad you missed the cart, so take those! Aidan can do without them." he continued. Frankie gave him a warm smile at the gesture. She hadn't ever had wizard candy before.

"Thank you very much!"

She was almost back at the compartment when yet another obstacle stood in her way. There was a giant blockade denying her access to her and Tom's compartment. Three girls were staring into the compartment with greedy eyes, to distracted to notice Frankie’s arrival. The first one had long straight blonde hair streaming down her back with pale grey eyes, the second a tangled mane of cruelly, curly black to be matched by shark black eyes, the last one had short straight hair that color seemed to resemble Frankie's quite a bit. Her bright emerald green eyes were first and only ones to notice Frankie’s sudden arrival.

"Wow! He's a dream!"

"You're right. He is…"

"He's sitting alone maybe we should go talk to him."

The train halted to a stop and the three girls nearly fell over onto their backsides, to distracted by the handsome boy to realize they had arrived. Frankie let out a small laugh at them and they all shot glares back at her. They all noticed her now.

"Excuse me, I'm trying to get back in _my_ compartment." Frankie added, haughtily pushing past them. The girls stared with envy as Frankie went inside and greeted Tom. Tom, who didn't seem to notice he was being stalked for the last quarter of the train ride, looked up from reading as she walked in.

"You took a while." Tom stated, as he stowed away his 'nothing of interest' book into his satchel.

"Sorry. I got a bit distracted on the way…" Frankie replied, quickly grabbing all of her things and stuffing her clothes into her bag. She looked out into the hallway, but the girls who had been there were gone. "Anyway, are you ready to see our new school?"

"I suppose." he sighed, sounding bland and uninterested. It felt like she was hiding something from him for some odd reason, but he decided to ignore it and just get off the train. It probably wasn't going to come up again and there were bigger things to deal with right now. The two headed for the train door with the rest of the kids and stepped off the train onto the platform. It was obvious who was a first year. They all just stood there and gaped at the castle, their home for the next seven years of their lives. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.


	7. The Horror of Sorting

"First years over here!" a rather large, burly man yelled, holding up his lantern as if they couldn't see him clear enough already. All the first years stopped their memorizing stare at the castle and began to crowd around him, most of them looking rather nervous now that they weren’t being distracted. Frankie couldn't really make out any of their faces in the dark, she’d even lost Tom in the silent parade of thirty-nine faceless kids. The only person’s face she saw slightly was the man who was leading them. He was tall and had a rough, gristly appearance. Frankie, along with probably everyone else, was forced to assume he was a teacher, but he had not yet said anything or referred to himself as such. Following a stranger in the dark was not the most assuring way to start this magical journey to school.

After a bit walking, they reached the edge of a pitch black lake with about fifteen tiny little wooden boats beached on the shore in front of them.

"Alright, about 3 or 4 to a boat!" the man shouted to the crowd. Everyone started shuffling to find people to group with, despite barely being able to see who they were finding. Unfortunately, Tom couldn't find Frankie in time. He had lost her in the darkness and got stuck with these three rather annoying girls, who had literally grabbed him before he was able to find her. He had to watch, since his boat was the second to last to magically push itself away from shore, as Frankie stood beside two boys waiting for him to get out sight. She waved goodbye as he drifted away, at least.

In the last boat there sat Frankie with a tall blonde boy and the other with messy dark hair. Although, she was very keen to be friendly towards them and already start making other friends here, they didn't really want to talk to her. It looked like the two had already been friends forever and were too busy talking about back home, people they knew, stuff she couldn't really get in on. Of course, she didn’t care about being completely ignored, after a while. She became more concerned for her own safety and the fact that they kept jerking the boat, trying to see if they could tip it over. Over in Tom's boat, he would've rather have them give him the silent treatment, or to have the boat suddenly flip over. The three girls in his boat just wouldn't stop trying to talk him. It made Tom at one point, even go as far as threaten to knock the blonde one off the boat. However, for some reason that merely made them come on stronger. Once they got out of the hellish boat rides, Frankie and Tom stuck together like glue. He waited for her at the dock, helped her out of the boat and, the second her feet touched the wooden planks, she grabbed onto a bit of his sleeve, probably thinking he wouldn’t have wanted to hold her hand any longer. They joined the others and, as soon as the man arrived at the dock as well, he led them inside of the castle. They stopped outside a set of closed grand doors, which Tom suspected to be the Great Hall, having previously studied out of _Hogwarts, A History._ He left them to wait for a professor to come and talk to them before they entered.

"Are you nervous?" Frankie asked, looking around at all the other first years. They seemed to all be spread out and anxious looking, most likely unsure about if they wanted to make friends before they were sorted.

"Of course not. What's there to be nervous about?" Tom replied, yet a quiver in his voice said otherwise. This moment would determine who you would be spending all your school days with, how people look at you, and possibly even your entire future. It was a nerve-racking concept to think that this life changing event was just minutes away. "What about you?"

"A little bit."

A sudden appearance of the auburn haired wizard with the half-moon spectacles made the crowd go into silent whispers. Unlike most of the kids there, Frankie and Tom already knew who this man was, though. So, there was no need to wonder about his identity. Tom glared at him slightly, as he walked in front of the doors to the Great Hall. Of course, _he_ would be the one leading them onwards. Tom’s future was in the hands of that irritating professor.

"Hello, everyone. Welcome to your first year at Hogwarts. My name is Albus Dumbledore. I will be acting as your Transfiguration teacher throughout your time here." Dumbledore smiled brightly at them. "Now then, each of you are about to be sorted into one of the four houses. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. During your time here your house will be like your family, but do not think that limits you in any way from socializing with the others around you! I would like everyone to make as many friends here as possible. Is that clear?"

They all nodded, silently still sinking in his words as the doors opened and they shuffled behind Professor Dumbledore into the Great Hall. It was filled with the older students sitting at four long tables, candles floating in the cloudy cathedral ceiling, and all the teachers were in the front at a big table smiling down at them. The first years all walked to the front, trying to ignore the stares and whispers from the other years, where a single stool sat with an old wizard hat resting upon it. Suddenly, before the hat’s presence could even be questioned, it sprung to life and began to sing,

_How would you like to be known to history?_

_Perhaps ‘The Wise’, a brain filled with knowledge and unrivaled perception._

_Or ‘The Bold’, someone brave and chivalrous, who fights devious deceptions._

_If you’re pretty ambitious, ‘The Great’, you might decide. A powerful asset to have by anyone’s side._

_Or maybe ‘The Good’ is the title for you, someone to standby and be faithful and true._

_Well, to be completely honest, that’s really up to you._

_I’m merely a simple hat, what more do you expect do?_

_I’m the Sorting Hat and my duty is simply this,_

_Too convey a wish, a hope, four friends once dreamt. A dream of harmonic bliss._

_Fit me upon your head and I'll have a look inside your mind._

_Put me on and dare to hide something I can so easily find._

_Put me on! I've never yet been wrong._

_I’ll tell where you belong!_

_However, as the years go by, I feel as though something has gone amiss._

_Like the founders friendship, something has gone all wrong…_

_But never mind that, thinking like that is something to dismiss._

_Come on, now. No need to be frightened,_

_I’m only slightly cursed._

_Come on, now. It’s time to start._

_Who’s up first?_

The whole room erupted in a mild applause as the hat took what looked to be a bow, except for the panicked, incredibly confused looking first years. They were too focused on the cursed talking hat, to be paying attention to the song it was singing. Most of them look frightened, as if they weren’t scared enough already to be sorted. Even Tom made sure there were a few rows of people in front of him, just in case they started pulling from the front.  

"When I call your name, you will come up to be sorted by the Sorting Hat," Dumbledore stated, holding the hat up high so they all could see it. There was a couple relieved sighs from the crowd, probably from people whose last names were at the end of the alphabet, and he began to call names towards the group, "Dylan Aguilar."

A girl with flowing blonde hair stepped forward and sat on the stool. Frankie stared at her awestruck. It was the girl she had run into from King’s Cross. She had seemed so confident and assured, in fact, she still did considering she was the first to have to face the Sorting Hat. Frankie could’ve sworn she was older, but there she sat on the stool, ready to be placed into one of the houses. The girl, apparently named Dylan, looked down at Frankie standing in the crowd and smiled at her.

" _Hmm…right….okay…Gryffindor!_ " the Sorting Hat shouted. The table to the left cheered and roared with applause as she came and joined them. Next, Maron Avery, Slytherin. Octavius Bales, Hufflepuff. Sabina Bane, Gryffindor. Cygnus Barrow, Ravenclaw.

"Leri Black." Another blonde head emerged from the crowd. Her hair was a white platinum, unlike Dylan, and was absolutely straight. With her ruby red lips and grey almond shape eyes, there was no denying her immense beauty. However, soon after she was seated, it was all sadly hidden by an ugly expression that didn't suite her looks at all. She held such a sneer that made her look rather high and mighty, like she already knew what house she was going to be placed in before the hat was even within 5 feet of her. And she did.

" _Slytherin!_ "

Applause sounded from the far right this time, as the table in a sea of emerald green gained their second new member. She gave the crowd a satisfied, proud smile, before sauntering of towards the Slytherin table. Dumbledore continued to call off more names from his list. Paul Billings, Gryffindor. Kenneth Cadwallader, Hufflepuff. Marie Clearwater, Ravenclaw. Robert Clemens, Ravenclaw. Phoebe Diamas, Ravenclaw. Until, after listening for what felt like forever, he finally arrived at her name.

"Frankie Dickson." Dumbledore read from the list and searched around for someone in the group to answer, even though he already knew what she looked like. This was it. The moment she had been waiting for. Although, she was in a rush to get there, to learn her fate at school and the house that would soon be her new family, her feet stalled on her. They glued themselves to the ground where she stood. She looked for a face in the crowd to help her and thankfully she found the only one at this point that would. Tom looked at her slightly confused as to why she wasn’t moving, until he realized she was just really nervous, and changed his expression to a softer one.

_I know you can do this!_

With that silent conversation, Frankie sighed and tried again to walk. Thankfully, after Tom’s quiet encouragement, she regained the ability to walk again. Frankie walked up to the stool and sat down. The whole room was staring at her and she tried her best to look straight ahead and out the door, rather than stare back. However, her eyes soon began to wander over to the warm light glow of Gryffindor table. She could see Dylan smiling and waving. Dumbledore placed the hat upon her head.

" _My, what a very unique mind. Very intelligent and loyal to a fault. Power and bravery above measure. This power is much like…_ _"_ The Sorting Hat's pause made her shiver with anticipation. She had said she didn't care about where she was placed, but she couldn't help wonder where the hat was going to place her. She felt as though she didn’t have any of the traits the hat had talked about. However, the hat apparently knew her better than she knew herself and would have the answer ready.

" _Gryffindor!_ " the Sorting Hat shouted. A broad grin appeared upon her face as the table roared with applause for her. She gave Tom a small smile, silently wishing him good luck as well, and went to sit beside Dylan. Once the applause died down to silence again, Dumbledore returned to calling off names from the list. William Dobbs, Ravenclaw. Sarah Ewing, Gryffindor. Elric Fischer, Gryffindor. Mason Gaines, Ravenclaw. Cackletta Goyle, Slytherin. Gwendolyn Hanes, Hufflepuff. Ethan Hawkins, Gryffindor. Lilac Jayde, Slytherin. Lina Jennings, Hufflepuff. Isabelle Lalonde, Hufflepuff. Nero Lawson, Hufflepuff. Radek Lestrange, Slytherin.

"Abraxas Malfoy." Once again a long blonde haired figure detached itself from the crowd, except this time it was a boy. He sat on the stool with the same sort of smug expression Leri Black had when she was sorted. Not so surprisingly, the outcome of confidence was exactly the same.

" _Slytherin!_ " the Sorting Hat yelled, before it was even all the way on his head. As he hopped off the stool to join the rest of the Slytherins, he flashed a mischievous smile and a playful wink towards the Gryffindor table. Frankie looked away from Abraxas Malfoy’s gesture and the Slytherin table, to stare down at her empty gold plate. It looked like he was staring right at her and she got embarrassed, but she had no idea why he would do something like that. It was not like she knew him. Why would he be smiling at her? Right after Malfoy was Jacob Marron, Hufflepuff and Madeline Myrtle, Ravenclaw.

"Quinlin Nole." Dumbledore called to the crowd. The boy Frankie had met on the train stepped forward. He almost fell face first off the stool, having been slightly leaning it forward, as Dumbledore attempted to place the Sorting Hat on his head. Everyone laughed a bit at him, even himself. Once he was fully settled back onto the stool, Dumbledore successfully placed hat on his head.

" _I can already tell you’re going to be trouble…Gryffindor_ _!_ " the Sorting Hat shouted. Cheers erupted from the table for an eighth time, as he went to go join them. The next name was Daphne Oakley who was sorted into Hufflepuff.

"Ellyn Pettigrew."

What made Miss Ellyn Pettigrew such a notable name to everyone was that she had a very shy and nervous demeanor and spent the longest time arguing with the Sorting Hat, clearly convinced she didn't belong anywhere. After all that the Sorting Hat shouted, " _Alright, alright. I understand._ _Slytherin!_ " possibly just to get her to shut up.

"Aidan Potter."

Frankie couldn't help but slightly glare at the boy with thick dark hair who was confidently walking up to the hat. He and Ethan Hawkins almost flipped her into the lake, and she was already stuck with one of them. She silently prayed that Aidan Potter would not also be in her house, but to much of her misfortune the hat yelled " _Gryffindor!_ " and he sat down a few seats away from her with Ethan. There were not many first years standing in front now, but Tom was among them. Now, that he saw this was all no big deal, he waited with an impatient expression. Annabelle Proteus, Slytherin. Antonius Radford, Ravenclaw

"Tom Riddle." Dumbledore called to the group. Tom stepped forward a sat on the stool, as the hat was placed on his head. The hat began actually speaking, unlike it had done for most of the others. Most of the others got a half a conversation with himself, or a one sentence statement, but he had something to say about Tom’s mind.

" _Hmm, well, well, what do we have here? A bright mind, I see. Lots of potential for greatness. Highly intelligent, but not very loyal. Bravery hidden beneath shadows. I could put you almost anywhere and you would most likely become a great wizard...But oh, what's this I see? Something new. It's rather clear now. You have power above your ranks. It is something hidden deep within you, with this power there's no doubt about it!_ _"_ The hat paused after this.

" _Slytherin!_ " the Sorting Hat shouted. They cheered as Tom arose from the stool and sat down at the table amongst the other Slytherins. They were all too busy cheering, they did not hear the miniscule sigh that escaped from Tom’s mouth, or notice his longing gaze to be at a different table. Although, he had nothing against Slytherin house, considering his personality traits his placement there made sense, but the two of them were supposed to go through all this together. In only a little over an hour at this school and Tom had already been forced to face a revelation he had been desperately trying to push back. He and Frankie were fundamentally different people. Their placement in opposing houses was proof of this. Their friendship made no sense. Yet he longed to be over there, with her, and now is forced to watch as all the Gryffindor's introduced themselves to her. It hurt to see her in a different house then him, but all he could do was stare on. Prue Thompson became a Ravenclaw, just like she had predicted. Rosalind Tidwell, Hufflepuff. Agatha Spaulding, Ravenclaw. Katy Watkins, Gryffindor. Magnus Warren, Hufflepuff

The last name on the list was Peter Vogel, who amazingly was put into Slytherin house. They didn't look too pleased to have him. They looked like they had been stuck with the leftover they did not want. The Headmaster, Armando Dippet, gave a rather short speech and then the great feast began. Food fit for several kings magically appeared onto the plates and everyone wasted no time digging in.

"I don't believe we've met properly, my name is Dylan. It's a pleasure to meet you," the girl sitting by Frankie's right side greeted, holding out her hand.

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Frankie. Thanks for the help at the station, if it wasn't for you I probably wouldn't be here right now." she smiled, taking Dylan's hand and shaking it.

"It was no problem. My parents have been preparing me for this day practically since I was born." Dylan grinned back. They talked throughout the whole feast about how excited they were to finally be here and what classes they most wanted to take. Once the food was mostly gone, the desserts appeared on the serving plates and thankfully it was not like what Frankie had previously experienced with wizard candy. She had popped one of the _Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans_ into her mouth and instantly spit it out. When they said every flavor, they meant _every_ flavor. She was pretty sure she had gotten a vomit flavored one.

"Never thought I'd see you here!" a vaguely familiar voice remarked, from behind her. She swirled around to face the boy she had given her the terrifying candy. Surprisingly, she wasn't fuming with anger at him for giving it to her either. "I never got to tell you, my name’s Quin."

"And I'm Frankie," Frankie beamed, shaking his hand. The feast was over and the Prefects started shouting at the first years to get up and follow them to the common rooms.

"Time to meet our roommates!" Dylan squealed, excitedly. She pulled Frankie along towards the Prefects waiting for them at the front. They had all gotten together with their new mates for the next seven years. However, Frankie's gaze was following the first year Slytherins walk to their own common room.


	8. Meet the Gryffindors

Sorting was done, as well as the feast and festivities, and it was now time to head off to the dormitories for some well-deserved rest. Frankie watched as Tom and the rest of the new Slytherins headed in the opposite direction of her and the Gryffindors. Apparently, the Slytherins were off to the dungeons, while they were off for the seventh floor. She had to admit to herself she was more than a little disappointed that she wasn't in the same house as Tom. It made this even more of an anxious situation for her. He was the only friend Frankie had ever had and she had been picturing going through all these experiences together with him. She didn't want them to start to grow apart. Hopefully, she would still get to see him often. However, fate seemed to have other plans for them.

Frankie snapped her gaze back to following the Prefect. The Gryffindor Prefect leading them seemed to be yet another strange character with an upbeat personality. He definitely had a ‘sports-instead-of-studying’ kind of vibe to him, regardless of his respected title of responsibility. His shaggy blonde-brown hair was almost long enough to barely cover one of his eyes. However, Frankie seemed to be able to catch a few more glances to discover one was grassy green and the other a pearly pale blue, with an odd star-shaped birthmark underneath. He took notice of her staring and grinned at her, which naturally made her look away. The Prefect said nothing as he started to lead the first years up the stairs to the dormitory, until he noticed a girl walking down the left corridor and stopped.

"Oi, Alice! What are you doing? Get over here and help!" he yelled down at her, leaning over the edge of the staircase. Her straight ginger hair swished around as she turned to face the voice calling her from the stairs and her freckled face scrunched up a little.

"You can handle it on your own, Rodger. I have to talk to Professor Merrythought for a bit." she answered, with a bit of a smug, satisfied smirk.

"School hasn't even started yet!" he protested. Her chocolate brown eyes looked at him like he was insane and the girl called 'Alice' continued to walk away from him. You could tell he really wanted to chase her down, but the first years…So, instead they continued up the stairs, like they hadn't even stopped. "Sorry bout' that. Now, I'm Roger Day and I'll be one of your Prefects, along with that good for nothing Alice. If you have any questions, concerns...blah-blah-blah—"

He could've actually said that, the whole "blah-blah-blah" part, but Frankie had not actually been listening by that point. She and Dylan walked side-by-side, distracted by the portraits greeting them along their way. The people inside them moved from frame to frame, like they were normal people in their own little canvas world. The droning Prefect speech Rodger Day was giving was getting incredibly boring and pretty much everyone just wanted to get to the common room. It was hard to walk in silence when the other nine people you'd be spending the next seven years of their life with were walking right beside you. Everyone was itching for conversation. However, Rodger had to go on.

Frankie sped up a little, without Dylan, hoping that it would get this thing going a little faster. However, rather suddenly, she could feel there was no ground beneath her. Frankie let out a small shriek and expected to be falling through the air any second. Luckily, she wasn't actually falling for long and could feel a force tugging her back towards solid ground. Frankie fell back and regained her sense of what was happening. She was now sitting on the ground in between the legs of Roger Day, who had fallen back in attempt to catch her.

"Watch it, Squirt." Roger laughed, as if it were funny she had almost fallen to her death. Frankie glared a bit at his laughter, but was mostly still shaking in fear. She felt a little more terrified then she should have been, for some strange reason. Although, that really wasn't the problem.

"Why is there a gap here in the first place? Where are the stairs?" she asked, franticly, trying to make sense of things.

"Alright, everyone! There are about a hundred and forty-two staircases at Hogwarts and most of them tend to move around. Take a lesson from Squirt's near death experience and start making notes of certain ones." Rodger stated to the group, rather than just her.

"Any ones in particular, sir?" Paul Billings asked.

"That one down there leads to the third floor on Fridays, which is out of bounds. And few over there have a vanishing step halfway up that you have to remember to jump over." Rodger explained, like it was a normal thing. Frankie gave him the exact look Alice had given him, the one questioning his sanity, and then a set of stairs seemed to move in from out of nowhere.

Once the moving staircase had halted to a stop, they all climbed on and started walking towards the next floor. Frankie was mad at Rodger, even though he saved her, he made her feel like a fool. However, she still walked close by him as he continued to introduce them to certain pictures and tell them about the school. He stopped on the seventh floor at the portrait of a very chubby woman in a pink silk gown.

"Oh, are these the new first years? They're so cute." the woman started to rant, acting like she could pinch their cheeks through the canvas and frame.

"This is the Fat Lady. She is the door to our common room. Make sure you remember the password. I won't be responsible if you get locked out." Roger explained, looking down at Frankie specifically this time.

"Roger, you've been locked out so many—"

"Remadus!" Roger shouted, before she could finish and reveal his un-Prefectness to the first years. She was forced to swing open and reveal the common room.

The common room was a circular room where the Gryffindors were able to unwind and relax. The walls were covered in gold and scarlet tapestries that depict witches, wizards and various animals. Along with a bulletin board where school notices, ads, lost posters, could be posted and a window that looked out onto the grounds of the school. It was filled with cushy armchairs next to a large fireplace that dominated the opposing wall.

"Boy's dorms are up these stairs and the girl's dorms are up those stairs."

Frankie and Dylan, as well as the rest of the Gryffindor girls raced up their stairs and found their room. It was much like the common room. It was another circular room covered in gold and scarlet everything from the curtains to the four-poster beds. They dispersed to the beds that their stuff had been set by, along with a new Gryffindor scarf. Frankie's stuff was on the middle bed of the five and she went over to it immediately. She wrapped the scarf around her and collapsed onto her bed. It was cushiony and inviting, unlike her hard, discomforting orphanage bed. The beds there made the splintered wooden chairs or the ground seem more appealing. She closed her eyes and just simply breathed in the moment. It was better than she could've possibly imagined. Despite the fact that she and Tom weren't going to be together, she already felt more at home then she had ever had. Sure, she lost her security blanket of sorts to go through all of this with, but this was a brand new adventure and the excitement was starting to kick in.

"It's officially meeting time!"

Frankie opened her eyes to find a pair of another pair of chocolate brown eyes staring a few inches from her face. She sprung up in shock and almost collided with the girl. It was the girl from the farthest bed to the left. Now that she was no longer hunched over her, Frankie noticed she was really tall for an eleven year old, around 5'2 or so, with her brown hair twisted up into a messy bun and a whole mess of freckles. "I'm Sabina Annette Bale. However, you can call me Bina if you'd like. I loathe the 'sa' part of the bina. It's too common and proper."

The girl settled in the bed to the right of Frankie's bed came up, following Bina's example. She had light brown-blonde curls that fell down to her shoulders and light blue eyes.

"My name is Katy and that little lump over there is Sarah." the girl smiled, pointing at the small girl who had already finished unpacking and was busy reading a book on the bed farthest to the right. Her straight blonde was just short enough to not get in the way, as she hunched over to get a better look at the words in the dim light. Whatever it was she was reading, she looked way too enveloped in it to give a proper introduction.

"Hi, I'm Frankie and that's Dylan. It's nice to meet all of you!" Frankie stated, figuring she’d also introduce her acquaintance, since Dylan was too busy organizing her things on her own bed to come over for introductions. Dylan looked up at the sound of her name, waving at the three, before returning to work. General introductions had been made, at least, so the two returned to their beds to get their school things ready for tomorrow.

Frankie sat on her bed in the middle once more, where her stuff still laid unpacked. She began to organize like everyone else. What would go in the drawers, what she'd need for tomorrow, what she needed to put back in the trunk. She was making good progress, and then she got distracted by Dylan's wand lying out on her bed.

"Wow, Dylan! Your wand is so lovely." Frankie gaped, in amazement. It was a slightly, dulling white like Tom's wand. However, instead of a bone, it looked like a chess piece that had gotten stretched out. The handle kind of looked like a rook. She silently wondered if it was also one of Garrick Ollivander’s.

"Thank you! May I see your wand too?" Dylan inquired, in return. Frankie nodded and went to retrieve it.

_Huh_ _…_

She searched again, and again, and again. Then, before she knew it everything was once again lying out on her bed in a mess and her organizing had been ruined. Unfortunately, that wasn't the real problem.

"It gone…My wand is missing!" Frankie gasped. All the girls looked up from what they were doing out of panic and mentally checked that their own wands were safely by their sides, before offering words of help.

"I'm sure you just dropped it in the common room or something. It can’t be too far." Dylan tried reasoning, to calm her down. Frankie ran out of the room to check, before it was too late. She just couldn't lose her wand. How could she possibly get through school without a wand? What would she tell Ollivander? She was already planning on visiting him again the next time she and Tom went to Diagon Alley, whether she had to get a new wand or not. But, how could she face him if she had to get a new one? He had looked so thrilled when the wand lit up for her, once the hysteric laughing subsided. It was one of his very first that he had made…

Frankie took the stairs down a little more slowly. Despite her rush, she didn't want to fall again. However, the steps of the stairs smoothed out beneath her and became a slithering slide. Falling was no longer optional.

_BAM!_

Not again…Frankie had slid into what seemed like a cushy, plush wall, but had actually taken down three more people. She started frantically apologizing as she tried to remove herself from slightly laying on top of all of them, when one of them spoke.

"Are you sure this isn't a hobby of yours?"

Frankie looked down to see Quin and the two guys who were trying to tip the boat, she could now recognize as Aidan Potter and Ethan Hawkins. She scurried off of them like were an infectious disease and glared at them silently, until Dylan came sliding down the stairs as well.

"The stairs are only cursed to turn to a slide when boys are trying to go up to our dorms," Dylan explained, at the boys confused expressions and Frankie's angered one. "Why were you three trying to get up the stairs to the girl's dorms?"

"I needed to see her." Aidan Potter stated, pointing right at Frankie. She stopped her death glare and replaced it with one of the boy's previously confused expressions. He needed to see _her_? "We had good intentions, honestly."

"You were coming to see me? Why?"

"Ethan and I found your wand," he replied, pulling her wand out of his pocket and handing it to her. Her eyes lit up at the sight of her wand, like she was being reunited with a long lost sibling. "Sorry, it must have fallen out of your pocket when we got a little rowdy with the boat. We meant to give it back before the feast, but we never got the chance."

"Thank you so much! I've been looking for it like crazy," she beamed, happily. Frankie pulled him into a tight hug. He wasn't actually a bad guy after all. However, she released him moments later, realizing even after what he had just done for her it was probably a bit to informal. She hadn't even properly introduced herself yet. "Oh, I'm Frankie, by the way."

"I'm Aidan and that's Ethan." he added, with an awkward smile. Aidan shook her hand. It was a warm and familiar feeling, like they hadn't just met. She shook Ethan's hand as well and it was the exact same thing…

"All of you need to get to bed. NOW!"

Rodger had appeared from the boy's staircase, finally showing he did actually have a Prefect side. No one was going to dare to argue with him. They all ran quietly back up their own sets of stairs. Frankie was heading up the girl's stairs when he spoke again, sounding more like his normal self,

"I knew you were going to be trouble, Squirt. Remember, I've got my eyes on you."

Frankie was about to tell him not to call her that, but he disappeared up the stairs before she could protest.

Of course, no one had actually listen to Rodger and gone to bed. It was their first night at school, naturally, no one could sleep a wink. Instead, they spent the night talking about everything they could possibly think of. A couple minutes later, when they Frankie and Dylan returned, the dorm was flooded with conversation. Frankie returned to deal with the mess of stuff she had created, while Dylan still had organizing to do in the first place. She got through half when she noticed a giant stack of paper Dylan had just placed on her nightstand for a moment.

"Hey Dylan, what's with all the paper?" she asked, picking up one curiously. The teachers would give them parchment scrolls to complete all their assignments, so Dylan didn't need all of that. Also, it looked normal enough, but Frankie had already quickly learned that a lot of things here were not what they seemed.

"Oh, that's _Flitwick's Fantastic Floating Parchment Paper_. It has a lot of uses. For example…" Dylan answered. She picked up a piece and started folding it. Soon it was a small paper fortune teller. Dylan wrote "To Sarah Ewing" on one of the flaps along with the numbers and fortunes, and then let it go. It floated for a second, then jet over to Sarah and floated in front of her. Sarah looked up from her book and recoiled in shock to find something floating in her face.

"Pick a number."

"I'm reading over here." Sarah giggled, playfully hitting the paper fortune teller back. It went over at Bina, she hit it to Katy, and soon it just became a big game of catch, rather than a teller of fortunes. Sarah had even stopped reading to play. After a while, they all grew tired and began to use it for it's original purpose, though.

"May I borrow a piece of that?" Frankie asked Dylan, as they were all huddled around the fortune teller on Bina's bed.

"Sure. What are you going to do with it?"

"I have a friend that I came here with who got placed in a different house. I just want to make sure he's doing alright."

"So, is this your 'friend'?" Bina asked, curiously. Frankie swirled around to see all the girls crowded around her little heart shaped locket. She felt the chain still around her neck, yet they had somehow had turned it around on her back.

"I remember seeing him at King's Cross with you." Dylan remarked. The other girls stared at it closer to try and remember if they had seen him at the station as well. Frankie undid the clasp on her locket, so that she would not choke, and ended up tumbling to the ground.

"Wow, he's very handsome.” Bina stated, eyeing the fallen Frankie suspiciously. They were already acting as if they had been friends since birth rather than people she had just met a few hours ago. However, they might as well get well acquainted. They're going to be together for quite a while. "Are you sure you two are just friends?"

"Well, they are dancing together and look at their smiles. There's definitely something else there."

"They make a good couple."

"Well, come on. Tell us!" they all stated, in unison. Frankie sat there in shock induced silent. Having no girl friends ever, this was the first time any sort of romantic gossip had been inserted into her life, let alone romance at all. She didn’t know what to tell them. They only looked like they wanted to hear only one answer.

"Honestly, Tom and I are just friends. He's very dear to me, but there's no sort of romantic feeling there." Frankie replied, trying to sound as bland and boring as possible. If she gave any type of blush or stutter in her voice, the girls would start up on it again. She didn't know why the thought made her feel kind of nervous for a moment. Honestly, there wasn't anything between Tom and her and there most likely was never going to be.

"Sure..."

They all answered in a we-don't-believe-you kind of tone, before waltzing off to their own individual beds. Frankie just dropped it as well, even though something told her she hadn't really convinced them. She began writing, while the others continued to talk on without her. It was alright, though. She wanted to tell Tom that she was doing alright on her own so far. He might be worried. Well, probably not, but she still felt the need to report to him. They had all gotten into a conversation she would’ve rather not be in, anyway…

"My parents are both muggles. They were completely shocked when I got my letter," Katy was saying, sounding very proud. "Being the first witch in my family is an honor."

"My dad's a wizard, but my mum is muggle. He didn't even tell her, till I set the dog on fire. Without any matches. " Sarah answered, with a small giggle at the memory.

"My mum and dad are both wizards. Fell in love right here at school." Bina answered.

"Same here." Dylan answered, as well. Then, she turned to Frankie to ask the dreaded question, "What about your parents, Frankie?"

"Um…they were both wizards." she answered, quietly. She didn't actually know. Frankie, like most orphans, never liked talking about their parents. Something happened to them, a long time ago, she couldn't even remember what. Luckily, they didn't notice that she said they "were" both wizards and just kept talking. Frankie soon finished writing her letter and folded it into a crane. She rushed to open the window and let it fly away; hoping Tom would still be awake to read it.


	9. Fighting and Friendships

Meanwhile, in the Slytherin boy's dormitory, there was a similar sort of scene. Talking, with the intention of doing it all night long. Who would want to sleep on their first night away from their parents? Tom was the only exception, not having any parents to begin with, of course. He was sitting alone on his bed reading the "nothing-of-interest" book, as Frankie so lovingly liked to call it now, and trying to make himself as at home as he possibly could. The bed was too squishy, the sights were not the same, and Frankie was all the way on the other side of the castle. Tom was happy to be there, naturally, but he did not like having to room with complete strangers. He didn't really feel like interacting with these other boys, despite them supposedly being more like him, boys with magic. Although, even if he did feel like talking to them, they were currently talking about this world. Something Tom knew little to nothing about, having not even been in it for twenty-four hours yet. Sure, skimming the books at Flourish and Blotts, Tom knew lots of things. However, experiencing them was something different.

Tom's train of thought was suddenly broken by something white attempting to slide under the window on his right. He stared at it, instantly wondering if something dangerous was trying to break in, until it made it all the way through. The thing un-flattened itself and popped back into what Tom assumed was its shape before it went through the crack. It was a tiny bird made of paper. It flapped its dainty delicate wings, flying immediately into Tom’s lap and stopped. All the Slytherin boys were staring at him now, but he couldn't have cared less. He ignored them and picked up the paper from his lap, like it was nothing. The crane had something written on its wing: _From Frankie_. The moment he saw that he carefully unfolded the crane, to see if there was anything inside.

_"Dear Tom,_

_It's too bad we didn't get in the same house, but I'm sure we'll still get to see each other around the castle. I'm already having a lot of fun in Gryffindor house and all my roommates are really nice. How are your roommates? I can't wait to meet some of them. I bet their all rather nice too. Anyway, we can still get together on the weekends. Maybe we can even take a walk next Saturday? Let me know soon. I hope you have a good first day of classes tomorrow. Who knows maybe we'll have a class together._

_-Frankie"_

Tom was somewhat happy she took the time to write him, but it still didn't stop this slight pain in his chest when he thought about her. He didn't know why it felt this way. Why exactly should he care if she was in a different house? The only thing that had made her really special at the orphanage was the fact that she was a witch, the one person there that could do magic with him. Everyone at Hogwarts could do magic, so he would find better people to associate with other than her. She shouldn't have been necessary to him any longer, yet the only thought on his mind was if that ratty old hat had put her in Slytherin instead of Gryffindor. Would he still feel this way? Have this wretched pain in his chest? She wouldn't have to write him at all. She would've liked looking out the windows downstairs, the common room was underwater. However, when he was re-reading the sections about the houses in _Hogwarts, A History_ , it made perfect sense she had gone to Gryffindor. In an attempt to stop the pain, Tom folded up the note, put it in his nightstand and decided to finally go to sleep.

The late night did not seem like such a good idea the next morning. Everybody, sleepy and tired, followed the Prefects to breakfast. Dylan had to basically hold on to Frankie so she wouldn't go crashing into the portraits or walk off a moving staircase, again. It gave Roger Day a good laugh to see her struggle. She tried taking a punch at him, but she ended up caving and accepting a piggyback ride down the rest of the way to breakfast. They had luckily made it to the Great Hall without incident and sat down to enjoy the pounds of food already waiting for them.

"Frankie, what's your first class?" Dylan asked, once they had handed out both of their schedules. Frankie looked down at the schedule, which had just been given to her, in her lap but only saw a big blur. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and checked it again.

"Um let's see…Potions!" Frankie concluded, as her vision finally cleared.

"Me too!" Quin exclaimed from across the table, with a piece toast still in his mouth. Dylan looked at him, disgusted, while Frankie was too busy looking over at Slytherin table, yet again, to notice he had said anything at all. At that moment, a teacher had just given Tom his schedule too and she could see him examining it with decent interest. Unfortunately, she could not see the words.

"Same here!" said both Aidan and Ethan as well, who were sitting beside her. Frankie jumped a little, not realizing they had been sitting there the whole time and her attention being obviously somewhere else.

"Well, of course you all have Potions. You pretty much go around with your house the whole day in the first couple years," Roger chimed in, from a little ways down the table. He got up and sat between Ethan and Frankie with a smug smirk. "The only thing you need to be worrying about is who you're doubling with really."

The first years feverously double checked their schedules and most let out simultaneous groans of dislike at the conclusion.

"Urgh, no. Not the Slytherins!" Quin exclaimed, as he checked the schedule. Everyone looked like they had eaten something rotten, which was obviously not from the food. It all looked fresh and delicious. The only one exempt from this look was Frankie, who just looked confused. "I can't believe that's who we got doubled with. This is going to be dreadful."

"What's wrong with Slytherins?" she reasoned, a little too defensively. Tom was a Slytherin now, which meant he was talking about him. And, listening to Quin’s tone, he sounded like he absolutely hated him.

"Oh, you poor naïve little muggleborn." Roger sighed, in fake-sympathy, as he patted her on the head.

"Stop that!" Frankie yelled, swatting his hand away. "What's a muggleborn?"

"A wizard who has none magic parents. You know, muggles," Roger explained, finally showing he had knowledge of something. All the Gryffindor first years were listening, despite the fact that only Frankie didn't know what it was. "They know nothing about the magical world because they were born by muggles and raised by muggles. Most don't even find out till they get their school letters."

Her expression slightly faltered. Frankie was thinking on how she was most likely muggleborn. It was not like it was a bad thing to be, but it made her think of her parents for the second time since she came here. She couldn't remember her parents having any magical abilities, from what she could remember about them.

"It doesn't really matter if you're muggleborn, though!" Aidan added, noticing Frankie's glum expression.

"Stop picking on her, Day." Quin yelled at him, noticing her expression as well.

"Would you all just shut it? Didn't your parents ever tell you to respect your elders? I was just kidding around." he said, bopping Quin on the head. Aidan and Ethan laughed as Quin rubbed his head and he hit them on their heads too. And when Frankie started laughing, he squished up her cheeks so she looked like some kind of mutant fish and then yanked them apart to make her look all stretched out.

"Someone has too many admirers already." Dylan added, examining the scene. She shot them a deadly sweet innocent smile and they all immediately went back to eating like they hadn't said or done anything in the first place. Except Roger, he just laughed at her apparently hysterical statement.

"You totally got them." he laughed, giving Dylan a high-five. Frankie sat there confused, while Dylan kept smiling and Roger kept laughing. What were they talking about? Admirers? Clearly, the years of solitude had not made her skills of perception very keen. The others remained silent, but obviously knew what was meant. Everyone seemed to get it, but her.

"What are you guys talking about?" Frankie asked, feeling rather clueless.

"It's nothing important," Dylan answered, going back to eating a croissant on her plate, "at least not for now."

"Well, anyway, I'm pretty sure my parents were both wizards." said Frankie, getting back to their previous conversation before that odd interlude. Even though she really had no idea and it was most unlikely, it would possibly save her from potential teasing and prejudice in the future.

"A pureblood. Surprised, you didn't get into Slytherin. I'm sure you they'd just love to have a little cutie like you in their house for once." Frankie wasn't even going to answer that. She thought the Slytherins had lots of girls far more beautiful than she was. There was this girl with long icy blonde hair, fair skin, and ruby red lips who was a perfect example of this. She was currently sitting beside Tom, making polite conversation with the other Slytherin girls and drinking her morning tea with a refined elegance. Frankie couldn’t remember her name, but knew she was one of the three ridiculously long haired blondes of their year.

"Hey Frankie, since we both have Potions you want to walk together?" Quin asked, even though all the Gryffindor first years had Potions first.

"Sorry to break it to you, but she's already walking with me." Dylan answered, locking arms with Frankie and started to strut with her out the Great Hall doors. He went after them, with a determined look on his face. Dylan stopped and turned just to glare at him.

"Um, how about we all walk together?" Frankie suggested. They both nodded in agreement and set off for Potions Class. Midway they added Aidan and Ethan to their group as well, saying they just wanted to talk to Quin, but ended up talking to her a lot more than him.

"Do you guys all know each other? I mean, from before this." Frankie asked, curiously. They all seemed to act like they had known each other forever. It made her seem a little out of place.

"Yeah, we're all neighbors back home. We've known each other since we were babies." Aidan answered. "Where were you born?"

"London.” she replied, although she sounded very unsure about it. It was pretty sad not to know the exact place she was born in, but it was just one more of those things her parents had never gotten a chance to tell her about. It was probably just in London, considering that’s where she’s always lived. Aidan looked almost disappointed, as if that wasn't the answer he wanted to hear, as if it wasn’t the right answer. Before she was able to question the reason behind his frustrated expression, they arrived at the dungeon that was the Potions classroom.

Tom was already in Potions, sitting at an empty table for three in the damp and hazy room. He was slumped over a bit, still rather tired from last night’s episodes and escapades. Shortly after Tom had fallen asleep, the other Slytherin boys had woken him back up again and he now had the urge to push every single one of them down the moving staircases. Especially the one named Malfoy. Something about him just made Tom irritated by simply looking at him. He was pretty sure it was the cascading blonde hair and the pompous smirk he always had on his face. The other students started entering the classroom, gradually. He soon noticed that it was a mix of first year Gryffindors and his fellow Slytherins, which meant supposedly _she_ was coming in too. A big group of Gryffindors came into the classroom and surely enough Frankie was among them. When they were at the orphanage, she didn't have any friends besides him. Everyone was afraid of her powers, even though she didn't like using them on others. However, here at Hogwarts, everyone had powers like them. So, naturally, she didn't have that problem anymore. Frankie is warm and kind to everyone, it figures she'd make fast friends here without the whole cursing problem. It was apparent that she no longer really needed him either.

"Tom!"

Frankie had called out to him, rather excitedly, as she spotted him sitting a few feet away. She quickly detached herself from the group and ran to go sit next to him. The group looked at him up and down, as if he was the stranger there, before finding seats of their own. One of the boys came and sat in the empty seat on the other side of Frankie, leaving the others to sit at the table next to theirs. A slightly chubby, balding blond man with a bushy walrus mustache suddenly appeared in the front of the class and, realizing he was probably their teacher, they were all silenced immediately.

"Hello, my name is Professor Slughorn and I will be your Potions teacher throughout your time here. I'm also the head of Slytherin house." the man stated, cheerfully. Frankie smiled up at him and even Tom seemed somewhat intrigued to hear what he had to say. Both had read a lot about potions in Flourish and Blotts on their trip to Diagon Alley. There were already brewing potions on the large desk in front of Slughorn, probably for the years above them, but none the less interesting. One was pitch black and smelled a little like blood. Another smelled of sweet flowers, Darjeeling tea, and old books (or at least that's how it smelt to Tom). There were other whispers of it smelling like bat spleens and toothpaste, or oranges and lilies. "The seats you have chosen will be your seats for the rest of the year, so I will give you a short time so you can introduce yourselves to the people who will be your partners."

"Well, I already know the both of you. So, why don't you two just introduce yourselves?" Frankie smiled. Tom was taken aback by this. She already knew him after less than a day. For some reason the fact that he has even said so much as a word to her infuriated him. There was something about this guy too that simply irritated Tom. Quin had absolutely no idea why he was glaring at him, until he noticed Tom's tie and started to glare back.

"I'm Quin and I'm in Gryffindor house." Quin stated, rather politely, despite the fact he was glaring at him. He extended his hand for Tom to shake.

"I'm Tom Riddle and I'm in Slytherin house." Tom replied back, coldly taking his hand, just out of courtesy. There was really something about him that Tom just didn't like, just like Malfoy. He couldn’t exactly place his finger on what it was. Perhaps it was the whole ‘I've-been-pampered-and-spoiled-all-of-my-life’ look they both had or maybe it was the arrogant air surrounding them. Tom stared at the squinted eyes, carefully. They were exactly like Frankie’s in color and design, however, they were different in many aspects. Unlike Frankie’s, they had no worries within them. No sign of any pain or hardships. Which was probably what was infuriating Tom so much.

"And how do you two know each other?" Quin asked, probably in disbelief they were acquainted, even though Frankie had said so herself. They seemed so different. Tom smiled wickedly at Quin's muddled expression and put his right arm around Frankie. He didn't know why he didn't see it when he came to sit beside her, but he could see it written all across the poor boy's face now.

"Frankie and I are childhood friends. We've always been _dangerously_ close…" Tom smirked. He possessively put his arm around Frankie and pulled her closer. The jealousy spread across Quin's face as he took in what Tom had just said. Tom grinned wickedly. He had only done it to see that idiotic look on Quin's face.

"Oh Tom, you’re acting so silly today!" she laughed, but neither of them were actually paying attention to her. In the midst of the heated glare, Professor Slughorn interrupted and told them to do the first exercise in their books. The three dispersed to grab their textbooks and work.

They ended up finishing the work in record time. Although, Frankie might have had to help Quin on some parts. Tom wanted to point out how stupid he must have been to have to be helped by someone not from the magical world, but barely held back the urge because she looked like she was having fun. Slughorn praised them quite highly for finishing so quickly and they just waited quietly in their seats, until it was time to leave.

"So, what do you both have after this?" Frankie asked, in attempt in trying to break this strange tension she felt at the table, while they were waiting for class to end.

"Herbology." Tom and Quin both answered in unison. They shot each other glares as if the other had just copied them mockingly and on purpose.

"Me too. Wait a minute? Let me see your schedules," Frankie said, curiously. The two handed her their schedules and she looked them over. All three of them had the exact same schedule. Potions, Herbology, History of Magic, Transfiguration, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, even Astrology on Wednesday nights together. "I guess the Gryffindors and Slytherins are doubling for all classes."

"It's pretty cool we'll get to see each other all day," Quin exclaimed, as he swiped his schedule back. "Want to study in _our_ common room later? I can help you with all the things you don't understand, what with you being from the muggle world and all."

"I highly doubt they'll give us anything to study on are first day, but maybe sometime in the future," she replied, politely, as she began to pack her items away into her bag. "Also, from the looks it, _I'm_ going to be the one helping _you_."

"You got lucky. I'll get the best of you in one of these classes." he answered, cockily.

"I highly doubt it." Tom sneered, disdainfully, finding it impossible to keep quiet any longer. "Face it, she's been in this world a little more than a day and already knows more then you. You've had your whole life to learn this stuff. I don't see why it isn't second nature to you by now."

"What is your problem?" Quin shouted, yet still could not be heard above the packing students. They would've been making quite a scene otherwise.

"Me? I don't have any problems at the moment." Tom answered, as if he had absolutely no idea what Quin was talking about. But it was plain to see that his problem was Quin. Well, except Frankie, she had absolutely no idea what was going on and that it most definitely regarded her.

"You're exactly how I pictured a Slytherin to be." Quin huffed, as he turned away from Tom. He was indicating their conversation was over, but Tom wasn't quite done with him yet.

"Yet, you're not how I pictured a Gryffindor at all," Tom answered him, preceding with his ultimate goal to piss him off. It was fun to mess with people like him. "I thought you'd be at least a teensy bit prettier, if not smarter."

"You—"

"Time to go students! Have a lovely first day of school." Professor Slughorn interrupted him, waving as the students rushed from their chairs. He had been addressing the entire room yet had popped right in between Frankie and Tom and seemed to be examining the both of them. Tom and Quin just got up and left, but Frankie gave him a small wave and a nice smile before departing.

Herbology didn't go any better. Tom had gotten Quin marked on Professor Beery's problem student list within the first half hour with ease, without getting on it himself. In History of Magic, absolutely no one was listening to Professor Binns. They were too busy watching Quin poor ink into Tom's hair while he was sleeping. Tom was usually not one to fall asleep during something like this, but not only had his roommates kept him up all night; he already knew everything from obsessively reading his textbook. So, having Professor Binns just repeat it all in a boring, droning tone was not his idea of a fascinating class. Finally, it was time for Transfiguration. It was not only going to be a very interesting class, it was also being taught by the very man who had brought them here.

"How was your last class?" Dumbledore asked them, as they entered the classroom. He had waited for them by door to greet them. Frankie entered looking less happy and peppy then earlier, but that was probably just the effect of the day wearing on. Tom entered looked fuming and angry, until he had heard Dumbledore greet them.

"Fantastic." Tom answered, straight-faced and highly sarcastic. The ink had dried looking like black blood dripping down his forehead. Everyone was staring at him oddly while they went to go find seats.

"Oh, Tom, you have a little ink on your face. Allow me." Dumbledore said, withdrawing his wand from his cloak. With one simple wave, the black blood faded away leaving Tom with his usual pale forehead.

"That was amazing, sir." Frankie gasped, looking truly and utterly amazed. Tom however had already seen him set fire to a wardrobe, this trick did not impress him.

"If you thought that was amazing, this lesson might come as a bit of a shock." Dumbledore smiled, as he walked to the front. The class was all seated and chatting to themselves. The two hurried to the two empty seats in back and he begun the lesson. He started by explaining how Transfiguration was basically changing the appearance of something into something else and how complex it was. Then, he struck everyone's attention with an example. He took a small rabbit from its cage, set it on his desk, and suddenly with one nonsense word and a swish of his wand the rabbit had morphed into a teapot. The class ooh'd and ahh'd in amazement at the spectacular display, especially Frankie.

"He's absolutely brilliant isn't he, Tom?" she whispered, covering her mouth with one hand so no one else but Tom could tell she was talking.

"I suppose he isn't completely terrible." Tom replied back, trying to sound and look as unimpressed as he did earlier when he had wiped the ink from his forehead. But it was hard not to be impressed. They then were given matches and told to turn them into needles. Absolutely no one managed to get any needles, it being their first try and all. Tom and Frankie did get the closest thing by having extremely sharp matches, though. Frankie had talked to her other friends how they did after the lesson. Dylan and Aidan had managed to sharpen them a smidge, Ethan had somehow managed to get a small spool of thread instead of a needle, and Quin's match did not change whatsoever.

Thankfully, the rest of the day's lessons went off rather well, as in no more scenes or incidents caused by Tom and Quin. Tom had made sure to sit far, far away from him in both Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts. Which also meant so did Frankie. She did not have to follow him, but he had the feeling she couldn't betray him like he was trying to do her. She couldn't just sever their friendship so easily, even though she technically no longer had any use for him either.

The first day ended as fast as it had come, leaving nothing left but supper left to enjoy. Frankie walked down to the Great Hall surrounded by all the other first year Gryffindors and, if you could believe after the fact he hadn't said a single word to them since he had gotten there, so was Tom with first year Slytherins. He couldn't imagine why either. They were all questioning him about himself and, unlike Frankie, he did not enjoy having to answer them. Giving these people personal information would be like giving them an invitation to be his friend, which he most certainly was not. Not yet, at least. Tom gave them as many one-word answers as he possibly could. Meanwhile, Frankie was struggling trying to answer some of the questions posed about herself that were asked by the Gryffindors, especially some of Aidan's. They all seemed to be somewhat about her past, which of course she wasn't too sure of.

"How was your first day, Squirt?" Rodger Day greeted Frankie, as she took a seat beside him at the Gryffindor table.

"Fun, but tiring. I'm exhausted." Frankie answered, truly looking exactly the same as this morning when she woke up. She was still trying to process some of the things day in her mind. Today just had been so different from life in the orphanage. She was making friends, her teachers seemed generally nice, and she got to use her magic. Every little thing she did seemed like an adventure, she just really hoped she could keep up with it all.


	10. Her Parents

The great adventure soon turned to chaos and panic, as the week drew to an end. Even though it was only the first week of school, all of the first years were already practically up to their eyeballs in homework by the end of it. Unfortunately, it looked like no teacher decided to give them a break for being so new to the school. The workload currently included: an essay on certain great Aurors for Defense Against the Dark Arts, a Charms paper, a star map for Astronomy, and a short History of Magic essay. There was also an array of various small exercises and questions from each subject that were meant to be done daily.

"It's no use. We’ll never get all of this done on time." Frankie groaned, as she angrily slammed _Magical Draughts and Potions_ shut, having just finished the set of daily Potions exercises Slughorn had assigned for the day. She tossed the rejected book and switched over to her almost completed Charms essay. She and Dylan were currently working on their work load Friday night in the strangely empty Gryffindor common room, while the others, mostly the boys, seemed to already be shirking their academic responsibilities. Frankie was sitting in an armchair side-ways, with her legs hanging out over the velvety plush arm, surrounded by a sea of parchment and paper handouts on the floor. Suddenly, her eyes fluttered over to a certain pile of parchment, noticing a piece she needed to finish the Charms essay on top. She reached her short, slender arm as far as it could go, too lazy to get up and obtain it. Not like she could if she wanted to. The whole entire armchair had been shrouded in parchment as well. She strained her arm and inched out her body a little further.

 _Almost there_ …

_BAM!_

Frankie clunked onto the floor losing her balance. The massive amount of parchment and scrolls she had in the chair suddenly all crashed on top of her seconds later. She found it all fascinating and loved learning about this whole new world, but she was quite literally drowning in work at the moment. It was a little too handle much right now.

"If we go to the library tomorrow we can most likely finish Dark Arts, Charms, and Potions," Dylan reasoned. She was sitting over at the table trying to figuring out her star map. She sighed seconds later, clearly frustrated, and just covered it up with her Herbology textbook, not wanting to deal with the thing any longer. She didn’t seem to even notice her friend had fallen to the floor and was now just lying in the wreckage, having given up even trying to escape it. "And since we don’t have Astronomy till Wednesday night we can just do the star map sometime between then."

"I'm busy tomorrow, though." Frankie protested. She had promised Tom they would go on a walk together that very Saturday. Although, they got to sit next to each other in practically every class they had, they rarely got any time to talk outside of class about non-school subjects. Strangely, Frankie could never find him after lessons ended for the day, he always ran off somewhere. If she missed this opportunity, she wouldn't get to hear about any of his experiences in Slytherin and she wouldn't get to tell him any of her experiences in Gryffindor either. Frankie really wanted to talk to him about all her housemates. They were the kind of people she and Tom had always been looking for, in the slight chance there were actually other kids with magic out there. He had said he didn’t need anyone else, but her. However, Frankie thought that she certainly couldn’t be enough for that boy she met sitting alone in the corner. Tom needed some other friends and the Gryffindors were extremely kind and un-judgmental. Maybe he might actually want to become friends with them too, once he knew how amazing they were.

"Is someone having a secret rendezvous with a certain Syltherin?" Dylan asked her, with a slight smirk. She had made it sound as if they were eloping rather than just going on a casual walk around the school grounds. Frankie slightly blushed at this blatant phrasing.

"It's not a secret rendezvous! We're just meeting." she practically shouted, into to her book. She was obviously flustered by the way her friend had said it. The girls in Gryffindor liked to playfully tease her whenever she mentioned Tom, insinuating there was something more there than there really was. It honestly wasn’t like that at all, though. He was her best friend. Frankie hadn't even really started thinking about boys in that way yet. She personally thought herself way too young to be in love and it was not like she exactly had known any other boys beside Tom to compare her feelings too. The orphanage boys treated her like some kind of disease, so obviously liking any of them was not even thought about, and the Gryffindor boys seemed nice, but she’d only known them for a week. She would worry about that sort of thing if and when it came along. For now, her main focus was just making friends and studying magic.

"Come on, its school work. I'm sure he'll understand." Dylan reasoned, as she started packing up her things on the table. Frankie thought about it for a moment. Although, Tom wasn’t exactly the most understanding person, he would surely understand having to get all this work done considering he probably had to do the same.

"Fine." Frankie sighed, finally deciding she had the strength to remove herself from the ground. Once they had finished grabbing all their things and they arrived at their dormitory, Frankie grabbed a piece of floating paper and started writing immediately. She jotted down a quick note, folded it into a cute little crane, and sent it out the window. Hopefully, he would be alright, but she still felt really awful that she was ditching him for the library.

Tom was busy doing the exact same homework that they had been doing, except getting a lot more of it done. He found it rather easy, since he had already been obsessively reading and studying his school books for weeks now. His housemates, however, could not be said the same for. Absolutely none of them were doing their homework. Abraxas Malfoy and the curly black haired boy named, Radek Lestrange, were laughing at the new hair shade they had given Maron Avery in a spell gone wrong. Instead of a shiny light tint, such as Malfoy's, his hair was an emerald green. Tom was trying to ignore them and continue to do his work, but they seemed to be seeping into his brain. Tom was supposed to be making new friends so he could leave Frankie behind, but how was he supposed to do that when these boys seemed like complete idiots? At least Frankie was somewhat intelligent. A crane flew into his field of vision. Tom snatched it so fast you would think him a snake catching his prey. They all stared at him, as usual when he unfolded these notes, and by now he thought nothing of it. He just did a quick scanning glare and they pretended to go back to what they were doing.

_"I'm so sorry, Tom. Something has come up and I won't be able to go on our walk tomorrow. I promise we can take one on Sunday, though. Meet me in front of the Great Hall at eleven Sunday morning, if that works for you._

_-Frankie"_

The note didn't really upset him particularly, nor did he feel he really cared. They would just go on their walk the day after tomorrow. He was actually supposed to be cutting her off, why bother going at all? Why did he answer these stupid cranes? Even glance at them once? Why hadn't he disposed of their useless friendship yet? And then there was still this odd pain…What the hell was that about? It was starting to get really annoying. His train of thought was interrupted by the boy from the bed beside him. He was a very short and chubby boy with blonde-reddish hair. He kind of reminded Tom of an obese mouse. To Tom's knowledge, his name was Peter. Peter Vogel. The leftover they didn’t want.

"Who keeps sending you all these paper birds?" he asked, curiously trying to look at the most current crane unfolded in Tom's hands. Tom crushed it in his palm, so Peter could not see what it said or who it was from.

"It is none of your business." Tom snapped back, angrily. He un-crumpled it a bit, before folding the note back up and put it into his nightstand drawer along with all the others she’d sent him this week. He only had about five or so, but he had the feeling this was going to be a regular thing, if he didn’t cut her off. Once it was safely tucked away, he carelessly shoved all his other papers and books onto the ground, tucked them under his bed and rushed under his covers, in hopes they would block all the idiots out. As well as the thoughts about Frankie.

Dylan and Frankie got up early next morning to go to the school library. It was Frankie's first time going to the library at school, let alone any library, and she couldn't help but feel a little excited. All those magical books were just sitting there waiting for her to read, sitting for hours on end, entranced in their splendorous information. She would definitely have to go there with Tom in the future. That's all he'd do in the orphanage, read and read a book in which he didn’t even have any interest in. Surely, he would find many to his interest in there.

After a couple wrong turns and a little bit of direction asking, they finally arrived at the entrance to the library. Frankie was drawn inside, her feet working automatically without any control, as she laid eyes upon the room. It was better than she ever could've imagined. It was a giant room with thousands of books lined along shelves and were flying through the air, fitting perfectly back to their original spots as students were through with them. It was almost like Flourish and Blotts, except bigger and more organized. Frankie completely lost whatever consciousness she had left and just ran for the nearest shelf and started pulling out as many books as she could fit in her arms. She had nearly a small tower about to fly over her head when someone tried to break her of her unconscious book grabbing.

"Are you two here to get some homework done as well?" a familiar voice asked, from behind her. Frankie whizzed around so fast the tower in her arms almost went crashing to the ground. Aidan and Ethan had just strolled into the library, looking quite tired as they sauntered up beside her and Dylan. Odds are they remembered late last night that they had homework due and panicked.

"Unfortunately," Frankie sighed. Her previous mindless daze vanished and suddenly she looked quite sorrowful. It was quite clear that she'd much rather be sharing this experience with Tom. Something just didn't feel right about not having him there besides her, yelling about the amount of books she was carrying or her not reading what she was supposed to.

"Since we all have the same classes, why don't we all work together?" Aidan suggested, cheerily, noticing her glum expression and thinking he was the cause of it.

"It is alright with me. I'm having quite a bit trouble with the star map. Do you think you can help me, Aidan?" Dylan smiled, snatching up his arm. The four of them headed to the tables to set down all their things down and then split up to find books. Most of the ones Frankie had grabbed weren't of any use, sadly. They spent a few hours on their work, but the library was such a most extraordinary place. It was very easy to get distracted in there, despite your determination to stay on task. Frankie soon became thoroughly distracted by a book of magical creatures and sat in the nearby window nook to read it. Dylan should've stopped her and confiscated the book, but she just sat beside her trying to read along. Aidan came up to them, as the sun could be seen setting in the distance out the window, with a big book that read, _The Hero's Handbook; A History of Some of the World’s Best Aurors._ It was sure to be help with their Defense Against the Dark Arts essay they were supposed to be working on.

"This is one of the Aurors we have to do for our report." Aidan added, as he sat down next to them in the nook. Dylan and Frankie started to read the page he had the book opened to,

_"Francis Dickson was a pure-blood wizard born in the late 1800's from John and Anna Dickson in the town of Godric’s Hollow. Although, he was not derived from Auror roots, his father working in the Department of Mysteries doing who knows what, he was said to have been drawn to the noted profession at a young age. He grew up with no siblings, but was rather good friends and neighbors with another famous Auror, Sibaster Moody (See page 248). It was said that they would often listen to Dalagof Moody (See page 175), father of Sibaster, talk about defending himself from the Dark Arts as an Auror in his younger days, which most likely the inspiration for these two going into the profession. Francis started attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry's in 1896 and was placed in Gryffindor house during his schooling. He played Keeper for the Gryffindor Quidditch Team from 1897- 1903 and was made captain of the team in his fifth year. After his graduation in 1903, he decided to fulfill his childhood dream of becoming an Auror. Of course not without the help of fellow classmate and other childhood friend, Elizabeth Broad._

_Elizabeth Broad (see page 394) was also born in Godric’s Hollow, around the same time as Francis, and was also in Gryffindor house. Most say she was the brains out of the pair, while Francis was the brawns and the bravery. The two were an extraordinary team of Aurors and together put many dark wizards, such as Zell Gaunt, into Ministry custody. However, with great success in the Auror position, comes greater enemies. The two soon became a target and were murdered by the dark wizard, "Grigor the Great". Around the time of the dark wizard's rise to power, their second child had just been born and had no choice but to flee to the muggle world. They had managed to hide from the public and Grigor for 6 years, until they were finally found in the summer of 1933. The two were killed in the attack, along with their six year old child and burned in a raging fire that Grigor cast on the house. Although, it was unknown why he sought…"_

"Wait a minute, we don't have _them_ for our essay. It’s supposed to—"Dylan snapped. Her oddly hostile tone, however, received no answer. Aidan was staring at Frankie, as if wanting her opinion, or her _reaction_ _,_ to what she had just read. She however was staring down at her feet looking rather clammy and pale. The world was suddenly spinning like a carousel and, she didn’t realize it, but tears were leaking out of her eyes.

Frankie was shot with a million questions, but she wouldn’t dare ask them. Why did they ring in her brain with such familiarity? Were they really her parents? Her grandparents? It was a common sir name. Were they even related at all? Her parents were not almighty Aurors who fought against the forces of evil, they were normal people, muggles. She was the only freak in her family. However, there was something about them, the story of Francis and Elizabeth. It was a story she should've remembered, yet she just couldn't. It hurt, it hurt to think about who they were to her. However, her heart already knew the answer. Her brain was the one in charge, though. It didn’t feel like facing the pain, trying to figure out this mystery, no matter how much Frankie wanted to. So, it shut itself down. She collapsed onto the window, unable to take the pain of remembering any longer.

"Aidan! Why did you do that?" Dylan screamed at him, making no attempt to stay silent in the library. Aidan’s actions may have seemed a little hazy and slightly cruel, but he held no remorse.

"It just has to be her, I can feel it. She just doesn't remember—"

"Even if it was her, which is a longshot, she wouldn't remember us whatsoever. You know that."

"That reaction, though. What do you make of that? She wouldn’t have reacted like that if it wasn’t the one.” he argued. Dylan sighed, she was growing tired of having this conversation already and it had only just begun.

"This doesn't prove that anything, Aidan. It's just bad timing…" she added, rather unsurely. "Why won't you ever drop this?"

"She's—"

"Yes, I've heard all your arguments before, nutter. Now, shut it and grab her. We have to get her to the hospital wing."

Meanwhile, Tom was walking through the hall on the first floor when he suddenly heard the commotion buzzing. Slightly curious as to the cause, he stopped and looked around for the source. Suddenly, he was nearly missed being run down by two boys running down the hall, one with an unconscious girl in their arms, and a blonde girl following them. He should've been able to identify them, since they were in all of his classes, but he didn't really care about any Gryffindors other than Frankie. However, with further processing, he did realize there was a mass of hazel of hair streaming in their arms that had flashed by with them. It could've only belonged to her. The unconscious girl had to be…

Tom unconsciously started running after them as fast as he could. The blonde one was the only one who noticed they were being pursued. She stopped running and grabbed him by the arm as he ran by her.

"Let go of me, you _stupid_ girl!” Tom yelled, completely forgetting the fact he was not supposed to care. Something was wrong with her. They must have hurt her, or something like that. He didn’t know, but he intended on finding out, “What did _they_ do to her?"

"Calm down, unless you want to make a scene. She's fine." Dylan answered. She grabbed the sleeve of is robes and pulled him behind the nearest corner, as the crowd started to return to normal.

"Then, what happened to her?"

"We were reading in the library and she hit her head." Tom stared at her in disbelief. He knew Frankie was clumsy most times, but hitting her head while reading. That just seemed to be a whole new level of the word.

"Can I ask you something?" Dylan inquired, breaking his train of thought about exactly how clumsy Frankie was. What could she possibly want to know from him? "I know you're somewhat of a childhood friend to her, do you know her parents?"

"No. She didn't come to the orphanage till a few years ago and neither of us enjoy talking about are parents, obviously. It’s a bad subject for any orphan."

Dylan didn't answer him back after that, since he didn't have the answer she was looking for, he was no longer of any use. It had actually made Aidan’s obsessive theory more plausible and she didn’t want that. So, she just merely took off once more as if she hadn't stopped him at all. Tom stood confused for a brief moment and then sprinted after her, assuming she wanted him to follow. The two just kept on running until they reached the hospital wing. When they got there, Frankie was still in Aidan's arms except she was awake and arguing with Aidan and the nurse, Nurse Glinda.

"Honestly, Aidan. I'm fine. You can put me down now!" Frankie argued, practically jumping out of his arms. He finally gave up and just let her be. She still looked very pale and her legs were shaking as she stood up.

"Nonsense, young lady! You need to stay here and rest." Nurse Glinda argued back.

"She's right Frankie. You still don't look so good." Aidan agreed. Tom shot him quite a glare for that. This boy was acting like he knew her just as long as he had, when in reality he’d known her for a little less than a week. "You should at least spend the night here."

"Fine." Frankie sighed, sitting down on the hospital bed. She noticed Dylan and Tom standing next to Ethan, as she reluctantly climbed into the covers, "I'm sorry to worry you. I'm okay, honestly."

Tom turned from glaring at Aidan to looking at her with worry. He never had seen her so sick and weak looking, yet she was still smiling happily, saying she was alright.

"Alright, Gryffindor boys, time to go to supper!" Dylan exclaimed, pushing Aidan and Ethan towards the door before they started asking questions about the Slytherin in the room. The three exited the hospital wing, while Nurse Glinda ran back to her office sensing the air it was best to give them some privacy, leaving Frankie and Tom alone.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Tom asked, once he was positive the other three had completely disappeared and the nurse was in her office. Although, he had a zillion questions he wanted to ask her instead, that was the only one that seemed to come out.

"I said I'm fine!" Frankie snapped. Everyone was asking her whether or not she was fine. It was only naturally after so many times it would start to piss her off. Nurse Glinda walked over, setting a fresh glass of water on the bedside table for her new patient. She looked at the time on the clock set there and looked to Tom.

"Visiting hours are over, young man. Run along to supper, now."

"Make sure to come back and get me tomorrow morning for are walk." Frankie smiled, waving good bye to mentally pushing him towards the entrance. Tom sighed and left for the Great Hall, once again trying to push that girl out of his mind. Unfortunately, she seemed to already be stuck there for good.

There was no getting away from her now.


	11. A Sunday Walk

Tom woke up early the next day in Slytherin dorms, not by choice, unfortunately for him. It was one of those annoying instances where your body just wakes on its own at like three o' clock in the morning without any particular reason. He spent this sudden downtime lying in the dark, contemplating whether or not he should actually go and meet Frankie. Tom kept saying over and over in his mind how much he didn't need her now and how it was in his best interest to just get rid of her friendship, like it was something that could be easily tossed away and disposed of. Judging by the structure of this community, staying within your house was in ones best interest. However, looking at the friend pool in his own house, he honestly would rather keep her. Currently, Lestrange was snoring loudly in the farthest bed from Tom, Avery was inches away from falling to the stone floor in the bed right besides Lestrange, Malfoy was lying face first into his pillow, looking quite dead, in the bed on Tom's right, and Peter had a fat glob of drool hanging out of his mouth on Tom’s left.

These people were unquestionably not worthy of being his friends.

He really should keep her, even if it was for just a little longer. For some reason, Tom found it extremely difficult to just let her go anyway. If, or when, he ended their friendship she would be alright, wouldn't she? She had plenty of friends now that they weren't at the orphanage. It's not like they needed each other anymore. Tom didn't necessarily even need to have friends at all. He was perfectly adept at being on his own. However, having magical allies of sorts might prove useful in the future. If he had connections in this world, it could take him to great places. Tom had no idea what he was doing in the distant future, but whatever it was it would be something extravagant and worthy of this society's recognition. Now, that he had found out his powers weren't anything special, he would have to become someone great even by this world’s standards. Frankie's future appeared to be going in a quite successful direction, so far. She was intelligent, brave, kind and also in Gryffindor house. They produced Aurors and high level Ministry workers, even some of the Ministers of Magic had been Gryffindors back in their day. It would prove quite useful to keep her close.

On that thought, Tom heard a sudden hard smash to the floor and the waking of everyone to see what it had been. But Tom did not even need to glance for a moment to know Avery's body had collapsed to the floor. Avery lay in the pile, probably too humiliated or too tired to move, while the other boys laughed. Looking at the small clock on his bedside table, Tom decided that now would be a good a time as any to 'wake up'. He reluctantly shifted off the covers and got his uniform off his trunk to get ready. Once prepared, he ate a minimum amount of breakfast in the Great Hall, as usual, before starting to walk down to the hospital wing. Tom peered into the wing from outside, half-expecting her to be out cold in the hospital bed or not even in there at all. However, when he looked, Frankie was sitting in the chair by her bed, arranging a variety of colorful flowers into a glass vase on the night stand.

"Good morning, Tom." she smiled, as she noticed him gazing at her from the entrance. Tom walked in slowly and slithered up beside her, as Frankie continued to pick up flowers and position them in a more eye-pleasing arrangement.

"Are you feeling any better?" Tom asked, trying to sound more strictly-business-like rather than worried. Even though he could already see that she didn't look at all like she had fainted in the library the day before. He for some reason couldn't help but ask.

"Yes. As I told everyone yesterday, _I'm fine_." Frankie replied, sounding just as irritated as she had the day before. She might have even glared at him for the tiniest moment. Tom thought she must have hated having everyone fret over her when it was really nothing.

"Are you ready to leave, then? You said you wanted to go on a walk, or something." he inquired, suddenly looking around at the empty beds in the hospital wing. Thankfully, no one seemed to be there. Although, he was allowing their friendship to continue for the moment, if anyone saw they could misunderstand things.

"Not so fast, young man. She's still recovering and needs to stay in bed!" A voice shouted, from behind the curtains. It was the nurse. Despite the fact Frankie was smiling happily in the chair rearranging flowers, she insisted that she stay in bed. He glared at Nurse Glinda's order not to take her. It just made him want to literally grab her and run out of the castle.

"Come on, Nurse Glinda. I'll be alright. I'll have Tom with me." Frankie pleaded, even going as far as to break out some puppy dog eyes. Glinda looked at the two of them for a moment and sighed.

"Very well, then. If she shows any signs of further illness, you bring her straight back. Do you understand me, young man?" she ordered, sternly waving her finger at them.

"I understand." Tom answered, already beginning to help Frankie up from her chair to leave. The two had just begun to walk out of the wing when they heard two more voices from the corridor, coming towards them. It was Aidan and Quin. Tom glared as they passed on by, thinking they had come there to visit Frankie, but that appeared to not have been the case. Quin was clutching his right arm and appeared to be somewhat in pain. Frankie smiled and waved, not noticing this minor detail, and Tom did the same. He did his best to smile and wave, ironically, considering the fact that he hated both of them. Before either could answer, Tom grabbed Frankie's hand and picked up the pace. If she noticed, they'd have to stop and be worried for Quin's pain and suffering. He wouldn't have that. They briskly walked out of the hospital wing and down the corridor, until they reached the main entrance of the castle. It was one of those sunny days in early September before the clouds and the frost came in. They walked down the dirt path, talking about classes, which was a little dull since they shared every single one, and their houses. It was mostly Frankie who was doing the talking. She loved all the classes, all the teachers, and all of her housemates. Her school life was seemingly perfect so far.

"What about your house, Tom? What's being in Slytherin like?" she asked, suddenly. He froze. What _was_ being in Slytherin like? Was it really any different from Gryffindor? Well, from the way it sounded, they both lived in houses with inferior idiots.

"They're not as cunning as everyone thinks they are—let's just leave it at that for now, shall we?" Tom said, stopping himself from going into a mad rant on their idiocy. It was just another way of saying that he thought they were all stupid and didn't really live up to their house's glory. Of course, those assumptions were just based on Tom’s observations over the past week. Who knows, he could be wrong about them.

They were coming up on a little tree a few feet from the edge of the Black Lake. It was surrounded by a nice grassy spot with plenty of daisies and a provided a fairly acceptable roof of shade. It looked like a normal setting you could find anywhere to the common eye. However, there seemed to be special feel to it. It was an indescribable feeling that pulled you in like a moth to a flame. Something about it shone with a dazzling light. And Frankie could see it.

"Let's take a break!" she chimed, as she made a sudden sprint for the tree. Tom sighed and slowly went to join her under the tree. He honestly didn't feel like sitting on the dewy grass to talk even more, but it's not like he really had much of a choice. It was her or _them_ _._ They spent a few moments in utter silence as Tom sat down a respectable distance of way from her. Their conversation had hit a snag and they both were waiting for the other to break the ice.

"Tom, are you angry with me?" she asked, suddenly. Tom remained silent. Maybe he was a little angry at her. For having such a lovely school life without him, not being a miserable orphan anymore, making plans to study with housemates instead of meeting with him. Maybe he was a little angry, thinking on it now. He picked her out of all the rest, saved her from loneliness and ridicule in that dreadful place. After all Tom had done for her, it felt like she was the one who was abandoning him.

"Now, why would I be angry with you?" he lied, effortlessly, not seeming mad in the slightest. Yet she stared at him, as if she were looking right through him, like she was trying to see passed his gut and through is liver, right to his very soul. It made Tom very uneasy and less confident his lie had succeeded when she stared at him like that.

"Well, ever since we came here you've been acting a little different. I always feel like I'm making you angry."

"Maybe I am a little angry about getting pushed aside for your new friends..." Tom admitted. He knew she could already sense how he was truly feeling. It was difficult to lie and put up a front around her sometimes. He'd have to work on that more.

"Oh, come on, Tom! Please don't be angry with me. I promise we'll go on a walk every Sunday from now on." Frankie said, sounding a bit frantic. She held out her pinky. He paused before he answered her, taking in her features. She looked serious, yet desperate and so, so childish.

"Alright, then. It’s a deal. Every Sunday, for as long as we live." Tom agreed, interlocking his pinky with hers. It was a childish thing to promise, but it would mean spending every Sunday with her for the rest of his life. That fact made him want to smile. A smile was tugging at Tom's lips and he tried his best to flash a non-cynical smile. He never smiled at all, though. However, Frankie seemed to understand what he was attempting and continued to talk more about her new life as a Gryffindor. It might’ve bothered Tom, if he was actually listened. He was busy being bothered instead by a subject she was carefully choosing to avoid. Tom couldn't help wondering about what exactly happened yesterday. The topic was glued into his mind and he had been meaning to ask her what had really happened. She had yet to tell him what she was actually doing when she fainted. He didn’t really trust the blonde one, or her version of the story.

"What happened with you yesterday in the library exactly? That girl never said. Then, she was asking me about your parents. What's going on?" Tom asked, suddenly blurting out ever little question he had. He thought that she'd get a bit angry at him for asking such things. However, she just sat there staring at him with a blank expression, like she hadn't even heard him, "I don't know much about my parents, either. However, I'll tell you everything I know about them, if you'd like."

“Well I'm not quite sure myself what happened in the library. One minute I was reading, then the next I was struggling out of Aidan's arms in the hospital wing," Frankie explained. She was looking down at the grass. Her brain had conveniently made her forget everything Aidan had made her read yesterday, “As for the other question, I can't imagine why Dylan would want to know what you know about my parents. You probably know as much as I do."

"I don't know anything, though."

"Precisely my point. I can hardly remember anything about my parents. Even their faces are blurred in my memories," Frankie added. "I was just released from the hospital when I arrived at the orphanage two years ago, finally recovered from an accident that I don't even recall."

"Oh…I'm sorry."

It was all he could say in return. Tom had not expected this. Sure, his mother died in labor and he knew absolutely nothing of his father but, unlike him, Frankie once had two parents that loved her and she couldn’t even remember their faces or why they died. He really didn't know how much she had gone through. She was always strong and smiling. Tom never would’ve imagined she had such a dark past, which somehow seemed to manage to best his in tragedy. He looked over at her gloomy face. It looked as if she was going to start crying. Tom was regretting bringing up this topic more and more by the second.

"It's alright. I can't remember much, but I can remember not liking them at all." she admitted, suddenly perking up a bit. Tom looked at her like she was mad crazy. He didn't really know the type of people they were, but what kind of child says she's fine with not being able to remember her parents because she hated them.

"Why not?" he asked, curiously. Frankie must have had a pretty good reason, for this girl didn't hate lightly. It took a lot to get this girl to hate you. Tom also hated his parents, but his case was completely different. He may not be able to remember them either, however, dying and abandoning him definitely made up for that. Tom believed his reasons somewhat legitimate.

"I'm not entirely sure as to the reason why. I think it was something about not letting me out of the house on my own. That would have been highly unreasonable, though. I mean, I was only six."

"Strange…" The reason was highly illogical, if it was the true reason, but that wasn't what was so strange. It was the eerie familiar feeling gave him. The story or subject seemed to strike a chord in him, like she had told him all this before, but he knew that this was the first time he was hearing this. Then, Tom looked at her and the thought drained from his mind. For the first time ever, he had succeeded in making her cry. Now, when they had first met all he wanted to do was make her break out into an ugly sob, like little girls often did. However, when Tom saw two or three tears streamed down her cheeks and he actually felt a smidge of guilt for causing them. They were not what he had ever wanted. He had made her think about losing her parents and not even knowing why.

"I'm sorry I ever mentioned it. I honestly didn't know any better. We don't have to talk about it ever again." he said, frantically, in hopes that look upon her face would cease.

"Thank you." she smiled. Tom felt the guilt vanish with her frown as she was giving him that warm normal smile she always had.

"You really are a Gryffindor, you know that?" Tom remarked, suddenly, almost smiling with her. Once again it showed as a creepy kind of smirk, but she still got what he was trying to attempt though.

"Hmm, why do you say that?" Frankie asked, looking rather confused.

"You're incredibly kind and a lot stronger then you look," he explained, truthfully, for once. "Sometimes I wish I was more like that."

"But I like you just the way you are, Tom. You don't need to be more like me." she admitted. Tom looked a bit surprised, even though the news wasn't too shocking. Just the way he was…Even though he was a miserable, cruel, orphan boy, she liked him. No one else had ever liked him and wanted to be friends despite all that before. He had made the right choice in choosing to keep Frankie beside him.

"I suppose you're right, clever girl."


	12. The Rather Ambitious Trio

Sun began crawling down the sky and buried them in a vivid orange sunset, signaling it was time for the two to start returning to the castle for supper. Tom told her that he was going to sit for a little while longer. He really didn't care if he missed out on eating. So, they said their goodbyes and Frankie trudged back up to the castle alone. It was amazing how long they had been able to spend talking out there. Time had just run away with them and if Tom hadn't pushed her back to the castle she probably could've spent many more hours conversing with him under the shade of the tree. Her life seemed so fascinating now and since she had met so many new people she had much to talk about. Tom remained pretty much silent unless to make snide comments about Quin. He wanted to talk to her about the things that were happening to him and all of his school adventures, but then he thought about it and realized he didn’t have any. Since he was choosing not to befriend the other Slytherins, he had nothing to tell her that she didn't already know. They had all the same classes and had equal magical ability, so far. The only true difference was their houses. Tom sat there under the tree, perhaps reconsidering making friends with the other Slytherins. Maybe, just maybe, he could find some use for them.

Meanwhile, Frankie was arriving just in time to shuffle into the Great Hall with the crowd of famished students. She amazingly managed to find Dylan and Sarah in the giant mass of people shoving to get to their house tables to eat. They clasped hands, so they wouldn't lose each other in the shuffle, and tried to push through the ginormous crowd of upperclassmen. Of course, that endeavor failed and the small first year girls fell back onto the stone floor.

"Good evening, Squirt and crew." Rodger Day greeted, noticing a pile up had formed behind him of people he was supposed to be looking out for as a Prefect. He helped them all up, got them through the crowd and to the table, with ease, thanks to his height and status.

"We didn't need your help." Frankie argued, once they were finally out of the now dying crowd.

"Says the girl who almost got trampled. You should be grateful for once." he sighed. The other first years had amazingly already made it to the table and were already sitting down waiting for the food to appear. Quin noticed their arrival and gave a small wave, and then he cringed a little and put his arm back down. Frankie seemed to be the only one who noticed and found herself drifting to the seat beside him to find out why.

"Where have you been all day?" Quin asked, as she sat down next to him.

"Umm…just walking around the castle." Frankie replied, casually. She couldn't tell him she was with Tom. They hated each other and she didn't want him to go into a rant on who he thought Tom was when he really didn't know him. It was best to keep Sunday walks a secret from Quin.

"Well, Aidan said that you were in the hospital wing. Are you okay?" Quin asked. He sounded worried, but Frankie didn't really care. She had been asked that questions so many times in the last twenty-four hours. So, she decided not to answer and just start taking food, ignoring him. While Quin, figuring he wasn't going to receive an answer, did the same.

"Oi, Quin! Don't forget you just broke out of the hospital wing a few minutes ago. You should be worrying more about yourself." Dylan stated, as she started to take one of the dozens of rolls that appeared out of thin air.

"Oh gosh, what happened? Are you alright?" Frankie asked. She was being a complete hypocrite in that moment, but she didn't care. His injury was probably an actually injury, not some fainting nonsense he'd recovered from in five minutes.

"I'm fine. I just got into a bit of a tiff with some third year blokes. It was nothing." Quin smirked, as if taking on boys twice his size was nothing. "Didn't you see me? Aidan and I passed right by you."

"Oh yes! It was only for a moment and I was on my way out." she replied. Frankie barely remembered seeing them, but she did remember waving at them. Tom was rushing her out as they were rushing in. She didn't realize they had actually even seen her.

"So, Frankie, how was your secret rendezvous?" Dylan inquired, changing the subject suddenly. All ears within hearing range turned towards them at the words ‘secret’ and 'rendezvous'. It was scandalous gossip waiting to happen.

"I told you it wasn't a secret rendezvous!" Frankie practically shouted back at her, getting all flushed.

"What's this about a rendezvous?" Rodger inquired. He changed seats to sit right next to Frankie and find out what was up. "This ought to be good."

"It is not any of your business, Day." Frankie responded, quickly. However, Rodger figured that if she wouldn't tell him, he'd just have to he'd just have to noogie the information out of her.

Over at the Slytherin table, they were not initiated in such lively conversation and uncivilized roughhousing. They all sat and ate, making polite conversation. Tom sat staring at the 'nothing of interest' book on the table in front of him instead of food. He had decided to come up with nothing else better to do, but he still just sat in silence. He was still thinking about what just happened with Frankie and if he actually should make some 'friends' in this house. He looked at them all sitting on the other side of the table, talking and making utter pigs out of themselves. Where would he fit into all of that? Then suddenly he felt someone tap on his shoulder. It was a girl with blonde hair sitting beside him. He recognized her as one of the girls he took the boat with, but nothing beyond that was ringing any bells. She was in his house, in his year, in all his classes, yet he didn't even have a clue as to what her name was.

"You know you really should eat something." the girl giggled, like his lack of eating was somewhat funny. Tom just stared at this strange girl. Why did she care if he was eating or not? She didn't even know him.

"Thank you, but I'm quite alright." Tom replied, not as coldly as he was usually, however not too friendly either. The girl seemed to find it friendly, though. Her ruby red lips curled into a smile, making Tom feel very uncomfortable. Her smile wasn't like Frankie's. It was a coy, fake kind of smile, which Tom could tell had ulterior motives. It was the kind of smile maniacs had right before they murdered people, "…Who are you, exactly?"

"My name is Leri. Leri Black. It's nice to officially meet you." she stated, holding her hand out. Tom stared at the hand for a moment, like it was infected, then looked back at her face. She seemed desperate for him to shake her hand as if it were the most important thing. However, he chose to ignore her and just get up to leave for the dorms without saying a thing.

"Aw, too bad. He appears to not like you at all." her friend fake-simpered, putting her hand sympathetically on Leri's shoulder and taking up Tom's empty seat. Her name was Cackletta Goyle. She had a bushy cascade of black curls that reached about middle of her neck and shark black eyes to match. There was something about her that just looked sharp and dangerous.

"I'm sure he will. Just give it a little more time. Why wouldn't he be in love with you?" her other friend reassured, scooting up beside them. She had straight brown hair just went past her ears and Slytherin emerald eyes. Her name was Ellyn Pettigrew, the girl who was now school famous for arguing with the Sorting Hat.

"You girls are so dumb." a voice chimed in. Peter was sitting on the other side of the table, casually sipping some soup like he hadn't said a thing. Of course, that didn't stop them from knowing the sound of his voice. They all glared him down and he tried to act like he didn't see them.

"Be quiet! What would you know about anything, Peter?" Cackletta snarled, angrily.

"I know that Tom would never fancy any of you." Peter retorted back at her.

"And why is that now?" Leri asked, a hint of curiosity in her voice.

"Because he I'm pretty sure he already has a girl or at least a girl he fancies." Peter replied. The three girls sat there with seemingly normal calm faces, but underneath was twitching anger and shock.

"Who is it, Peter?" Leri inquired, taking a sip water from her goblet and giving him a small discomforting smile. You could see the confidence draining slowly from Peter as they all sat in anticipation of his answer.

"W-w-why would I—"

" _Who_ _,_ Peter? Tell us, _now_." Leri asked again, giving a small twitch. She obviously was restraining herself from shouting and demanding he tell her this very instant before he rung his fat neck. They all had looks of murderous intent on their faces, as if he was really holding on to something important. It was just merely just a name, not even just a name, just a description of girl they didn't know with a boy they didn't really know. However, Peter had known these girls since they're horrid presence came to be in this earth and he knew not to cross them when they had that demonic look in their eyes. He'd live much longer if he just gave them what they wanted.

"There’s this girl in Gryffindor. He sends notes to her all the time and I saw them sitting together by the lake about an hour ago. I don't know who she is exactly, though." he blurted, rather fast, without taking a breath.  It was a nervous mixture of truth and lie. Unlike the rest of his housemates, Peter had actually bothered to learn the names of the Gryffindors of their year. Tom getting notes through the window and tolerating sitting by one girl in every class, he was smart enough to put two and two together. However, he wouldn’t risk getting absolutely slaughtered to protect her identity.

Peter gave them just enough information to distract them. They all craned their heads toward the Gryffindor table to try to spot this fabled girl, who was apparently good enough to be allowed to be friends with Tom, while Peter quickly tried to finish his food, so he could run away.

"Wait a minute! It must be the girl we met on the train, the one who was sharing the same compartment with him…" Ellyn whispered. Leri and Cackletta's head swerved back to a hazel blob they had glazed over in the search. The girl was arguing with an older boy sitting next to her, looking very flustered. They stared trying to spot what was so special about her, but they came up with nothing. She was just average.

"Don't be daft, Ellyn. Her? Why even you're much prettier than her." Leri laughed. Cackletta snickered and Ellyn pouted, at the 'compliment' that her friend had given her. Leri looked the girl up and down once more, still not grasping what made this girl so distinct and extraordinary. "She's so plain, why on earth would he associate with the likes of her?"

"Well, I was just saying that, on the train, it seemed like they had known each other before." Ellyn muttered.

"For god sakes, you've known him for a week and have barely said a word to him in that time. You girls are insane." Peter shouted, unable to simply ignore them anymore. However, they were ignoring him, now that they had found the girl. Leri saw her get up as she finished her arguing and headed out of the Great Hall. She indicated for Cackletta and Ellyn to follow her and the three of them left, ignoring Peter's comment. They walked a respectable amount of distance behind her, until the girl took a sudden turn into the girl's lavatory, in which they quickly closed the gap. Leri pretended to be checking her hair in the mirror while Cackletta and Ellyn positioned themselves right in front of her stall. The girl emerged seconds later, randomly twirling a locket around her neck as she swung the stall door open, almost hitting the back of Cackletta's head.

"Excuse me." she stated, politely. She was trying to push past them all in attempt to get out, but the trio would not let her get away so easily.

"I love your hair. Just how did you get it that length?" Leri chimed, even taking up the girl's hair in her palms, before she could continue walking out. Now, you'd think she was trying to yank it out of the girl's head, but apparently she just merely wanted to see how far it went outwards.

"I don't trust Mrs. Cole with scissors." she answered, as if they knew who Mrs. Cole was. It had actually become a bit of a habit all week, saying things about Mrs. Cole like everyone had been living at the orphanage with her. She had almost forgotten no one here except Tom had any idea of this dreadful woman's existence.

"Oh! And her eyes match perfectly as well, how pretty." Leri continued, as if she hadn't heard the girl's odd and somewhat comical reply to the first comment.

"You're just saying that." she laughed, clearly not used to such flattery. The girls at the orphanage treated her like an infectious disease most times and it's not like Tom would flatter her like that. The best thing to a compliment she'd ever received from him was when he had said, 'I suppose I don't hate you', which wasn’t much. It was a rare thing to receive a compliment for her.

"No, it's true. You are just too beautiful, sweetie." Leri insisted.

"Well, thank you very much. I'm Frankie, by the way." the girl smiled, holding out her hand. Leri stared at her smile, the warmth and earnest glow. It made her want to sit on a knife. Her dark prince could not possibly see value in such a smile. However, regardless, Leri took her hand and smiled back.

"I'm Leri Black. That's Cackletta and Ellyn. We're all Slytherin first years." she explained. Cackletta and Ellyn gave small waves, but stayed silent. Frankie waved back in attempt to let them know she was nice and wouldn't bite their heads off for saying something.

"I know. I've seen you all in my classes. I'm a Gryffindor first year."

"Oh yes! But of course. It's just so hard to meet or make friends with the Gryffindors when all we do is learn. They never give us any time to chat." Leri beamed, as if she was just remembering seeing Frankie in her classes. She did in fact remember her now. She was the one who sat next to Tom in all of them…

"Such a tragedy." Cackletta added, sounding a bit sarcastic. Leri shot her a look and she went back into silence with Ellyn.

"I have wanted to make friends with some people from other houses as well." Frankie added.

"Well, I hope we can all be friends then," Leri exclaimed, with a Cheshire Cat sort of grin. "We'd adore having such a lovely friend like you."

"I hope we can be friends as well." Frankie replied, as she turned to leave. "I have to go back to my common room now, but I'll see you all another time."

"Of course, sweetie. Good bye now." Leri smiled, waving goodbye at her. The other two began waving as well as Frankie exited the lavatory. They waited a good thirty seconds or so before they started talking again.

"What was that all about Leri? I thought we came in here to let her have it." Cackletta demanded, stomping her feet on the ground in anger. She was mad because she didn't get to beat someone's face in. Cackletta was kind of the brutish, violent one, of the bunch.

"All in good time, trust me on this." Leri replied, calmly. She was still looking off towards the entrance as if Frankie was still walking out. "Did you notice she had a locket? I bet the answer to our problem is in there."

"How do you mean?" Ellyn asked, sounding a little confused.

"If she fancies him he'll be in there and if she doesn't, he won't. It's as simple as that, Ellyn." Leri replied, as if she had been stupid to ask such a thing.

"And if she does, what then?" Cackletta asked.

"We'll get her to reconsider, of course." Leri smirked. It was quite clear she was not going to give up if there was another girl in the way. That girl didn't deserve him. Bloody Gryffindor, thinking that she could be with a Slytherin. Even if it was just friends, why the thought was just laughable. Leri would be doing both of them a favor by splitting them apart. And if that required brute force or a little vehement persuasion, so be it. The only way Frankie would remain safe at this point was if she never spoke to Tom again.


	13. October Showers Bring Skeleton Flowers

They had only been in school for a little more than a month now, but both Frankie and Tom were already doing extraordinary. Most of their professors adored them because of how fast they were getting the material, what with them not being brought up in the wizarding world and all. Especially Professor Slughorn. Frankie and Tom had easily become two of his most favorite students. Their table was even starting to get the nickname of his 'star table'. Even though Quin constantly needed help and was always fighting with Tom, they always finished first and always brewed their potions perfectly. School life seemed alright so far. The two were keeping their promise of frequent Sunday walks. Rain or shine they were out there, talking under the tree by the lake. It had become their sort of special spot they would stop at to catch their breath before hiking back up to the castle. For the moment everything in their lives was fine. Well, almost fine, in Frankie’s case. Unbeknownst to her, she had recently made some very powerful enemies.

"Frankie, is someone still playing childish tricks on you?"

Dylan and Frankie were walking down the many staircase to breakfast together, as usual. It was Halloween morning and the school was decorated with pumpkins everywhere, even in the air hovering above them. Dylan seemed rather normal, being raised in the middle-class of the wizarding world. However, she noticed that instead of her droopy tired eyed morning self, Frankie was looking around madly at the sights. It was almost to the extent, as if she thought there was someone after her, which was sadly not as crazy as it sounded.

"Yes, but it hasn't been too bad. Honestly, I’m alright." Frankie smiled, stopping her wild gazed. It was only because she was not used to the sight of the floating pumpkins and the actual ghosts grazing all over the halls. She had never had a real Halloween before. In the muggle world, she heard, that kids would dress up like witches and clowns, they wore colorful masks and paraded around the street asking for candy. However, Frankie was never allowed to participate in such simple escapades of a joyous childhood. She had to stay inside. Even on a night celebrating freaks and spooks, she had to remain hidden. She was really just very excited to see what Halloween would be like in the wizarding world.

However, Dylan had been right as well, she might've been a tad on her guard also. Ever since October had started, weird things had been happening to her. One morning, when she was sitting down for Potions class, she was going to say good morning to Tom and her tongue just curled up. It was very unpleasant. Then, just yesterday morning, she was walking with Tom to Transfiguration and she just fell over. He blamed it on her utter clumsiness and helped her up, but she claimed it had felt like her legs had turned to jelly. Similar incidents had been happening frequently throughout the month and she still didn't know who or what was causing them.

"It's probably just Rodger." Dylan reported, as they were beginning to sit down at Gryffindor table. Frankie sat down next to her, picking out and taking a bite of a piece of toast from the pile in front of them as she did so.

"Probably." Frankie replied, sounding a little unsure. It was like Rodger to tease her about her height and the fact she grew up like a muggle and didn't know simple things around here, but it was unlike him to play pranks like this. Who could be doing this? Frankie put down her toast and got up again. She had lost most of her appetite by this point. She decided to go to Potions earlier and perhaps see if Tom was there. He often went to Potions early, not enjoying having breakfast. Frankie was halfway to the Potions classroom when she heard the sudden clacking of footsteps behind her. She turned to find Quin, looking quite out-of-breathe behind her. He’d obviously run after her, "Good morning, Quin. Off to Potions as well?"

"Yes, I was hoping to get there early so you'd help me with the Cure for Boils." Quin replied back, trying to sound casual, as he was rolling his sleeves back up to how they usually were.

"Of course, I can help you. Let's hurry up then." Frankie exclaimed, picking up speed a bit. The two walked briskly in silence for a while, with the intent on making it to Potions, before picking up conversation again.

"Are you going to the Test of Courage tonight?" he asked, suddenly. Frankie looked confused for a moment, but then remembered what he was talking about.

"Oh yes, Dylan and the other girls mentioned that. However, I'm not sure if I'm attending." she answered.

"But you have to go. It's a tradition." Quin argued.

"What if we get caught by Pringle?" Frankie gulped. Apollyon Pringle was the grumpy caretaker at Hogwarts in charge making sure the castle was clean and tidy. He also patrolled the corridors at night to make sure that no students were wandering in the late hours. Punishment was known to be very _severe_ , if you were to get caught. Even more severe than Mrs. Cole’s punishments. "We could get caned if we aren't careful."

"We won't. It'll be so late he has already clocked off patrol and gone to bed."

"And what about the professors?"

"They know it's sort of an unofficial tradition and won't get involved. They probably did it too when they were our age." Quin insisted. They entered the hazy Potions class, giving a small wave to Professor Slughorn and then heading for their table. Tom was already sitting there reading the book without interest, not acknowledging their presence with so much as a glance.

"Fine, but if we get caught I'm going to blame you." she groaned, pointing at him accusingly, as she sat down in her seat.

"We are not going to get caught, don't worry." he laughed.

"What are you two blathering on about, now?" Tom asked, already irritated by their mindless chatter. Yet a bit curious as to what they could be talking about that could possibly get them into trouble.

“The Test of Courage. It's a competition for first years that the higher years came up with centuries ago to see if you can really survive at Hogwarts. The goal is simple, just walk down to the dungeons, leave your candle and walk back. The higher years leave traps and pranks to scare you and your partner." Quin explained.

"You should come, Tom! Maybe we can be partners." Frankie added. You could instantly see the regret on Quin's face on for explaining what was going on. This probably was the number one reason for Tom's answer,

"I suppose I have nothing better to do."

Potions class started shortly after, having used up all their extra time talking about the test. Professor Slughorn gave them parchment with the recipe for "Witch's Brew" and told them to make it within the hour. The day went on with cheesy Halloween related classes. In Herbology, they learned how to grow Super-Fast Pumpkins, engorge them and carve them. The gamekeeper had a bit of pest trouble this year it had seemed, so all the Herbology classes' pumpkins would be decorating the Great Hall this evening. History of Magic was more of like Muggle Studies today as they learned of the muggle's adaption of Halloween from the wizarding world.

Finally, after the fast and easy round of lessons, it was time for the Halloween feast. The students flooded into the Great Hall, gazing at all the decorations. The cloudy cathedral ceiling was filled with candles and the pumpkins of the students. All the pumpkins were different. Some disfigured, contributed by the first years, and some too big or too small. It certainly made the school look a little more unique then it usually was.

"Oh look, Tom. There's mine and there's yours." Frankie exclaimed, pointing to a spot in the ceiling. Somehow, she successfully managed to identify theirs among the hundreds that floated above them. Tom and Frankie's were a few pumpkins apart and both seemed to have an abnormally bright orange glow. Even in pumpkin form he looked un-amused and was glaring at everyone, while Frankie's looked extremely happy and had a large, even grin.

"Yours looks good, compared to all the others." Tom stated, still staring up at them.

"Thanks!" she smiled, at what one of his best compliments so far. The two were separated as the flow of the group pushed them in the directions of their own respective house tables.

The feast was full of candy and rich food that Frankie had never even heard of. There was candy like Acid Pops, Sugar Quills, Cauldron Cakes, Pumpkin Pasties, Treacle Fudge, Chocolate Frogs, Jelly Slugs, and Liquorice Wands. She made sure to try at least a little of everything. Her favorite turned out to be the Crystallised Pineapple. These canary yellow, powdered sugar coated, gelatinous lumps that were flavored like pineapple. The boys in Gryffindor went practically mad on a sugar rush. Frankie was unsure how they were at the other tables, but guys like Rodger Day were chugging down Cauldron Cakes like it was the last time they were ever going to see food. However, it was easy to tell who had been scarfing down candy at the end of the feast, they could hardly even walk they were so sick. Just as Frankie and Dylan were walking out Quin, Aidan, and Ethan had to literally grab onto them for balance.

"Ugh, I can't walk. I'm dying." Quin mumbled, weakly as he grabbed onto Frankie's shoulder for much needed support. Dylan was having trouble to with Aidan and Ethan holding on to her. They tried many tactics to shake them, but sending them flying off a moving staircase seemed a little much. It seemed to be no use in escaping them, so they just decided to trudge onwards. The five walked up most of the stairs to the common room, with much struggle.

"It's you guys own fault!" Dylan shouted at them collectively. She tried to shake Aidan and Ethan again, but it was no use. They were like leeches. They were only one staircase away, when suddenly the weight was lifted from them.

"She's right." Rodger dictated, despite not being one to talk. He acted just like them at the feast. However, currently, was not rolling over dying having four years of previous experience under his belt. Finally, after much hardship, they made it to the portrait of the Fat Lady. Rodger shouted the password, which today was 'gravitas' and she swung open immediately. "Now, you three get up to your own dorm and leave Squirt and Blondie alone. They'll be plenty of time to cling to the girls when you're screaming at the test."

The newly freed girls ran up to their dorm, before the boys could re-attach themselves again. Although, now that there was a plush common room couch to sink onto, they were no longer wanted anyway. As soon as they arrived upstairs, Dylan and Frankie began to prepare with the other girls for the contest. Since they were allowed to wear normal clothes, there was a lot of outfit deciding to be done. Frankie had decided on a white frilly dress with matching white mary jane flats. The dress had belonged to her mother and was one of the only normal clothes she had that wasn't a hand-me-down from the orphanage. They all went downstairs, at a quarter to twelve, to join the others and left immediately. Rodger Day and the other Gryffindor Prefect, Alice Prewett, led the first years to the front of the Great Hall, where the other houses first years was waiting for them. What looked to be another fifth year was wearing a dusty old cape over her regular uniform, a Hufflepuff tie hung loose around her neck, along with an old fashion witches hat over her corkscrew pigtails of dulled gold and a black mask was placed on her face, in a meaningless effort to hide her identity.

"Alright firsties, time to choose a number out of the hat!" she smiled, holding out the hat. All the first years took slips of paper out of the hat and unfolded them. "Find the same person with your number and they will be your partner."

"What number did you get?" Frankie inquired to Tom, the second they had both gotten their numbers. She had gotten number 3 and Tom had 26. "Aw, that's too bad. Well, good luck finding you're partner, Tom."

"Good Evening, Frankie." Leri greeted, walking out from the group towards her. Tom immediately swerved in the other direction, like he was intentionally trying to avoid her. She didn’t take notice and continued to talk to Frankie, as if he hadn’t ever been there. "What number did you get?"

"Three." Frankie smiled, trying to not look to down about Tom's sudden swerve away and the fact they weren't going to be partners. It was rather odd. Did he have something against Leri or was it mere coincident he turned just as Leri greeted her? How could he have something against her when they were housemates and she was so nice?

"Really? I've gotten three as well. That means were a pair!" Leri exclaimed, latching on to Frankie's arm. Everyone seemed too form into pairs eventually. The pairs were Bina and Paul Billings, a Gryffindor boy who didn't really speak up much with the rest of them, besides Elric Fischer. Apparently, though, he was rather a jerk when he did. Frankie had heard from Lina Jennings, who has known him since they were three, that he can be a real arse towards some people. She and Elric are the only people in his good graces, apparently. Quin and Peter was another pair, Dylan and Aidan, Katy and Daphne, Malfoy and Marie, and Tom and Ellyn. Sarah, Ethan, and Cackletta ended up a three person group because the other half of the forty first years chickened out last minute and had probably just gone to bed.

"Everyone grab their partner and get ready to go!" Rodger Day shouted. He was holding the waxy bag of candles, while Alice the maps, as their contribution to the contest. Most likely all the others had run off to get into place. They all lined up in their pairs got their candles and maps and left one pair at a time for the dungeons.

The contest had begun! You could tell the higher ups were doing a pretty good job this year, as gradually all the first years had to retire from the contest. Quin and Peter were scared by a "zombie" walking at them. Bina and Paul were scared by a third year Syltherin lying motionless in a pool of blood in the middle of the hallway. Dylan and Aidan ran back because they ran into Nearly Headless Nick by surprise. Sarah, Ethan, and Cackletta got caught in a big net and were forced to retire. Frankie and Leri walked down the dark hallway being stopped by many traps, but none of them scared them or caught them. They were almost to the dungeon.

"I wonder how everyone else is doing. Ellyn gets so scared over things like this." Leri stated, looking around for any signs of danger. Frankie held the candle and the map, while Leri was the eyes of their team looking out for traps and tricks.

"Well, she has Tom with her. I'm sure she'll be alright." Frankie responded. Tom never got scared of anything and weirdly just by being in his presence she never got scared of anything either.

"I didn't know you knew Tom." Leri smiled, but this one came out sort of maniacal and sinister. Luckily, Frankie was too invested in the map to notice the scariest thing she'd encounter in the dark so far.

"Really? We sit together in all of our classes. He's my very best friend, you know." Frankie went on, her head still buried in the map. It was kind of odd that Leri didn't know about her and Tom's friendship, but she supposed none of the other Slytherins really did. Tom hadn't actually introduced her to any of his Slytherin friends, Frankie just slightly knew them all from the classes they shared.

"You must have known each other before school began, then?" Leri questioned.

"Yes. We’ve lived in the same orphanage for two years now. It's a muggle orphanage and, since we’re the only two people with magic there, it was kind of hard not to become somewhat close." Frankie reported.

"How interesting…" Leri answered. Then, she turned her attention suddenly to Frankie's locket and picked it up in her hand. "Is he the one you have in there?"

"Well, kind of." Frankie replied, stopping as so Leri wouldn't accidently choke her. She clicked the locket open and there was Tom and Frankie, dancing together in the tiny frame. Leri stared at it, trying not to look in puzzled bewilderment and keep a neutral, uninterested expression. Who was this boy? Certainly not the brooding boy who harbored darkness in his soul, the boy she believed would lead the Slytherins. How could this girl reduce him into such a state, without his fronts or defenses? She didn’t understand. "The man who took our picture gave it to Tom and he gave it to me."

"Let's take a little detour, shall we." Leri stated, suddenly turning towards a staircase to their right going down.

"But the map says to go this way." Frankie claimed, pointing to the left corridor of stairs.

"It'd be much faster, trust me. Slytherin dorm is practically in the dungeons I know where I'm going." Leri insisted. Frankie nodded and she let Leri lead the way down the right set of stairs. They stopped in front of a dungeon and Leri opened the door. She indicated for Frankie to go inside to place the candle. As Frankie walked into the doorway, Leri shoved her to the ground and closed the door. She got up immediately and shook the doorknob, but it wouldn't budge. It was locked.

"What's going on? Let me out!" Frankie screamed, at the small barred window in the wooden door.

"I don't think that I can. That would be going against the plan." Leri sighed, crossing her arms, acting a little like she didn’t have a choice in the matter.

"I don’t understand. What plan?” Frankie yelled, looking rather confused. The nice Leri who she had just known up until a few minutes ago was gone now and an angry one had replaced her. She was glaring at her with so much contempt, could it possibly all been just a lie? “I thought we were friends…"

"Friends? You and me? Don't make me laugh.” Leri smirked, letting out a small chuckle at the concept. Figures that she wouldn’t know anything growing up as muggle scum. Someone needed to teach her how things worked. “Slytherins and Gryffindors can't be friends."

"What are you even talking about?"

"You're a naïve girl. Stop getting in my way."

Leri disappeared into the darkness. Frankie fell back to the ground after a small trial of shaking the doorknob. She sat in the dungeon with only the diming light of her candle to keep her company and soon it would be gone as well. There was a huge stain on her dress from when Leri had pushed her to the ground and since it didn't have pockets her wand was left in her dorm. Frankie was trapped and she still didn't quite understand. Leri seemed nice to her, until they had started talking about Tom. She could see many skeletons engraved into the wall, blood dripping into pools on the floor. It was just props, but Frankie had to admit it she was a little creeped out by it. She didn't want to have to stay here all night. There was pretty much no one else still out there, but she knew she couldn't give up yet. Frankie started yelling for help. Surely, there was still someone out there that would hear her.

Tom and Ellyn were the last group making their way to the dungeons. Tom didn't really speak to her, unless it was to warn her about an obvious trap she was about to trigger. Not being partnered with Frankie, he just wanted to get this whole thing over with. There was no fun in any of this if he couldn’t make Quin writhe in jealousy or watch him piss himself in fear. Suddenly, Ellyn jumped and clung to his shoulder from the smallest click coming from the dark. He did not shake her immediately, but crouched down. She had dropped what looked like an old fashion key. Just then, as Tom picked up the key, he heard a scream for help from the depths of the darkness.

"What was that?" Ellyn trembled, holding onto Tom's arm even tighter.

"I don't know." Tom responded, trying to listen to the voice. He walked a few steps closer and the voice stopped crying for help and screamed a sharp and terrified pitch. He didn't know why he didn't before, but Tom recognized the voice now. "Frankie…"

"I'm sure it's just a prank. We should head back." she stammered. Tom could see the desperateness in her eyes to keep him with her and he knew what was most likely going on. He shook her off and glared at her with extreme hatred. How could she have gone along with something like this? Tom didn’t really know Ellyn, or any of those annoying girls from his house, but he didn’t know they would sink as low as to do something to Frankie. After he was satisfied with her guilty expression, he went running into the darkness to the dungeons. He followed her voice. Now, he could hear it was arguing with someone. Tom could see the faint glow of a candle still lit in the door and shouted _"Alohomora"_. He had accidently left the old fashion key behind with Ellyn, but thankfully he had read of a spell that unlocked doors in his Charms textbook. The door swung open immediately and, without even seeing who had saved her, she ran into his arms. Somehow she just knew it was him.

"Tom…Thank goodness." Frankie sighed, in relief. Tom could feel her slightly shaking. He could see the many skeleton heads and bones engraved into the stone brick walls and then there was the laughing ghost coming halfway out the wall. She must have been at least a little bit scared.

"What happened?" Tom asked.

"Well, first I was yelling for help, and then Peeves here just scared me half to death," she laughed. Peeves was one of the many ghost in the castle, however, he was not pearly white and transparent like the others. He was a little man who wore a bell-covered hat and an orange bow tie, who could make himself invisible or transparent when he wanted. Peeves had made himself solid-looking, once more and floated above them. "Thanks a lot, Peeves."

"Think nothing of it, girlie!" Peeves laughed, tipping his hat to her. Odds are he had been going around scaring a lot of kids all day and didn’t even have to agree to appear in the test. Once he was seemingly satisfied, Peeves disappeared into the wall cackling madly.

"I meant, why are you trapped in here?" Tom demanded, trying to hold back his anger at her lack of seriousness in this moment.

"I lost Leri and one of the higher years must've locked me in. I'm fine, Tom." Frankie assured him. She didn't want him worrying and making a fuss over nothing. She didn't truly understand herself, but Leri must have had her reasons.

"Come on, I'll walk you back to your common room." Tom sighed, taking up her hand and leading her out. He knew that was a lie and he had a hunch of what the real story was, but now was not the time to question her about it. It wasn't her fault. They walked back up to the seventh floor where they could hear the voice of the Fat Lady, quite loudly and very clearly.

"I tell you kids every year not to do this. But does anyone listen to me? No! You all go gallivanting around the castle after hours." the Fat Lady nagged on. They saw Dylan waiting silently in front of the portrait, while the Fat Lady was on a wild rant about the competition to her. She noticed the two walking up the steps and ran over immediately.

"Frankie, where were you? What happened?" Dylan whispered, trying not to attract the attention of anymore portraits. The Fat Lady's ranting had pretty much most of the surrounding portraits awake and staring, whether they cared about the matter or not.

"I'm still a little confused about that myself. I'm not exactly sure." she answered, vaguely. The two said goodbye to Tom and disappeared into the portrait hole. All the Gryffindor first years and Rodger and Alice were waiting on the couch and in the armchairs in the common room and jumped up as her and Dylan entered.

"Are you alright?" Paul asked. Frankie was slightly shocked to find him among all the rest, let alone being the first one to ask about her, after what Lina had told her.

"Yeah, what happened to you?" Elric inquired as well.

"I lost my partner and Peeves locked me in a dungeon." Frankie replied, going with her official story. It was a lie, but telling the Gryffindors what actually happened would have consequence. What Leri had said about Gryffindors and Slytherin not being able to be friends had gotten to her a bit. She tells them a Slytherin locked her in a dungeon, they'll probably swear even more vengeance on the house.

"Were you scared?" Katy asked.

"Not really." she replied. It wasn't really all that scary, thinking on it now, mostly confusing and frustrating.

"You're pretty tough, aren't you?" Quin joked. Frankie nodded and gave her tough girl face. She was indeed a very tough girl. She wasn't going to let this confusing mess get her down or be scared. Frankie was going to remain strong and pull through this. Whatever this happened to be.

"Alright, the contest is over and Squirt is back. Now, it's time for bed." Rodger commanded, letting out a big yawn. Alice rounded up the girls and Rodger the boys and everyone said their goodnights and went up to bed.

The next morning, sadly, was Tuesday and everyone had to get up early for classes. Frankie rushed out of the covers, after having slept for an extra ten minutes longer than the other girls and rushed to get ready. Then, she noticed something hanging at the foot of her bed. It was her dress, pearly and white once more. It looked brand new.

"How?" Frankie asked her, holding up the dress. Not even a trace of dirt remained from a few hours ago.

"A little magic, of course. My mother taught me a spell to get stains out of clothes," Dylan answered, swishing her wand a little. "I knew it was important to you."

"You're amazing." Frankie giggled, running over to give her a big hug. She then returned to hurry getting ready. The rest of the girls were already going down for breakfast and she was still in her pajamas. She quickly got on her uniform, hoping she would still get a chance to eat. Frankie had been straightening the tie on her uniform when she noticed the small white paper crane on her nightstand. She unfolded it and read the note inside.

" _I'm sorry. I won't try to explain to you the stupidity of the girls in my house, but it was my fault you got locked in the dungeons. They won't be bothering you anymore. I swear I'll protect you from them from now on._

_-Tom"_


	14. Christmas with Ethan and Minerva

The school was soon piling up with snow, as Christmas was fast approaching and another month of school went by smoothly. November had proved much more enjoyable, for Frankie at least. Without the bother of the trio of first year Slytherin girls, she no longer had childish magical pranks being pulled her every other day. She understood their intentions clearly now and knew she ought to stay away from them. Well, actually, Peter Vogel had told her just yesterday why they despised her and promptly walked away. It had been their first and only conversation, but at least someone had given her some warning. Later, when she tried to talk to Tom about it, he acted completely oblivious to the fact he had three girls already so ridiculously enamored with him that they would do such horrible things. He simply told her not to worry and that he was ‘dealing with it’. As someone who knows far too well of what Tom Riddle is capable of, Frankie had to make him feverously promise he wouldn’t retaliate and he was forced to comply. However, angry glares and harsh comments were thankfully enough to get them to retreat in their efforts to try to get Frankie away from him, for now.

It was the night before winter vacation and the castle was preparing itself for the joyful holidays ahead. After a giant feast, most students rushed back to their dorms to pack their bags and head home to see their families. However, if you didn’t have a family and weren’t particularly hungry that evening, you’d be like Frankie. She was sitting reading, _A Guide to Medieval Sorcery_ _,_ on her bed in the warm glow of the lamp light, long before the rest of her house came back. Eventually, the other four girls sifted in to start vigorously packing for their journeys home.

"Do you know where Quin has been? He hardly ever shows up for supper anymore and I’m starting to really worry about him." Frankie asked Dylan, suddenly, when she had retreated her bed to finish her packing. She was only at supper for a while, but she had not seen Quin while she was there. It had been the same story for weeks now. She’d even asked him about it several times and he always laughed and said he’s been sitting at the other end of the table.

"I think I saw him going into Slughorn's class earlier. I wouldn't be surprised if he was being forced to take some remedial lessons before the break." Dylan explained, with a slight scoff, as she threw a few garments into her rucksack.

"Honestly, after all the help Tom and I have given him.” Frankie sighed, shutting the book and tossing it aside. She searched under her bed, until she found her Potions textbook and started to search it for helpful hints that she could give Quin before he left for the vacation.

Everyone's things were packed in smaller traveling bags for the few week Christmas break they were given, except Frankie's things. All her roommates were going home to their families, but she and Tom, having no families to return too, had agreed they'd rather stay here then go back to the orphanage for Christmas.

"Why do you all have to go and leave me here alone?" Frankie groaned, as she took a brief pause from the book.

"I'd stay if I could, but my parents want me home." Dylan replied. The other girls nodded in agreement. Although, Frankie knew that it was just an excuse to make her feel better. In reality, they actually missed their parents and wanted to return home. They would get to sleep in their own rooms and eat home-cooked meals. First time away from mum and dad, surely, they all felt a little homesick by now.

"I know. All your parents want you at home." she sighed. Frankie didn't have her parents to return too, which just made her feel all the worst about it. If she still had parents, she would be going home as well and get to talk to them about all her school adventures and friends. "I just really wanted to spend Christmas with all of you."

"Well, at least Christmas is on Sunday…" Dylan smiled, giving her a wink. Frankie looked at her confused for a moment before getting what Dylan was referring too. Naturally, Sunday walks couldn’t be kept a secret from the girls. "I hope it snows for you two."

"Oh, it's not like snow is uncommon. It’s practically been snowing all month." Frankie claimed, with slight redness on her cheeks. It was true. It was even snowing as they spoke. It's not like it would be some special thing if it were snowing on Christmas, like it was often thought. She soon got tired of pretending to read and trying to ignore the obvious insinuations, so she decided to just go down to the common room to see if any of the boys were down there procrastinating on packing. Which, odds were, they would be.

"Good evening, Frankie."

A voice greeted her from the couch, as she walked down the last few steps. It was Paul, surprisingly enough. It was rather odd for him to acknowledge her presence. The two weren't necessarily friends. However, they weren't complete enemies either. Ever since Halloween, he was strangely rather polite to her, going against all the rumors he was a pompous arse to everyone. And perhaps that was what didn't make her is friend. He wasn't allowed to be mean to her. She already had enough people to tease her for the rest of her days. What else would he have to do with her if not be a cruel twat? So, they merely just spoke as civilized colleagues.

"Good evening, Paul." Frankie smiled, returning his polite greeting. "Have you seen Quin?"

"I was just upstairs and I didn't see him. Aidan is also missing. It's almost past curfew, they should be here by now." he answered. Just then, the portrait hole slid open and Quin and Aidan stumbled through, both looked quite pleased with themselves. Aidan hugged a long, old cloak in his arms, while Quin had a few Fizzing Whizzbees in his.

"Quin! Aidan! Where have you been?" Frankie inquired, like a stern mother about to give them hell. They both jumped, unaware of her presence before that moment. They stared at her and Paul over by the couch and then back at each other.

"None of your business, that's where." Quin answered, quickly.

"I was only wondering because Dylan said she saw you going to Slughorn's class." she frowned, taken aback a bit by his rudeness. He wasn't usually that mean to her.

"I did! I went for help and then I found Aidan on his way back from the library." he explained, still being quick and jumpy.

"Alright. You could've just said so in the first place." Frankie answered, as she turned to leave up the girl's dormitory steps. She had the slightest feeling he was lying to her, considering the literal armful of evidence, but she decided not to question it. Completely forgetting her motive for coming down, she turned back for the stairs, "I'm off to bed, then. I'll see you all after the holiday."

Frankie woke up the next morning to a harsh glare of blinding white light and a room full of empty beds. It was only eight-thirty, but the Gryffindors were already gone. She sat on her bed and pondered what she could do with her solitary time. There wasn't really much she could do, but practice a few spells and possibly read a book or two. Then, suddenly, realizing there was breakfast still going on she leaped out of bed and got her uniform on. Frankie found Tom waiting in front of the Great Hall and they sat together at Gryffindor table, since they didn't have to stay in house tables and Tom actually preferred that she not sit at Slytherin table.

"Thank goodness Leri is gone, she'd be exploding with rage if she saw us sitting together." Frankie laughed, jokingly. However, it was anything but a joke. Knowing Leri, she'd quite literally be exploding with rage over at Slytherin table right now. However, thankfully, she and the rest of the Slytherins went home for vacation as well.

"I'd quite like to see her explode with rage. It sounds like quality entertainment." Tom smirked, as he probably imagined her head being blown to pieces.

"It sounds scary to me." she gulped.

"Of course, it'd be scary for you. She wants to kill you," he responded. He was speaking quite literally, actually. The trio all wanted to kill her. They thought as Frankie as a threat for some idiotic reason. What exactly she was threatening, Tom liked to pretend he didn’t know. “If her head explodes, she’ll make sure you’re standing right next to her.”

"I don't see why she's become so taken with you. You don’t really talk at all." Frankie stated, suddenly, as she slowly munched on her daily morning toast. She was clearly unaware of all the other girls in school who seemed to take some kind of a liking to him. It would seem he was far more popular here than he had ever been at the orphanage. Marie Clearwater often would try to talk to him on his way to Transfiguration on her way to History of Magic. Rosalind Tidwell had already tried asking him on a study date in the library. Naturally, like Leri and the rest of the trio, he saw all their motives immediately. All the girls here seemed to find his cold manor charming and, considering they had magic as well, the whole 'cursing' thing wasn't a problem. It was a rather irritating situation for him. Tom didn’t care about love and he didn’t want any sort of romance with any of the girls here. All he came here to do was perfect his magic and make something of himself in this world. Love was just an unwanted distraction.

"Girls are stupid." Tom remarked, in all seriousness. He had forgotten, until he had actually said it, but he was actually talking to a girl that very moment. The only girl he somewhat enjoyed talking to, since she didn’t have a motive with him other than being his friend.

"I'm a girl, you know." she added, with a hint of sarcasm.

"But you're different. You aren't like those girls." he replied back. She half-smiled at him, probably feeling a little bit better about the comment now that she knew it didn't include her.

Suddenly, from out of nowhere, an older boy with shaggy brown-blonde hair and different colored eyes wrapped one of his arms around Frankie's neck. Tom quickly stood up, with a slightly panicked expression upon seeing Frankie locked in a headlock. The boy took his other arm that was not holding her head in place and made a fist. Tom was about to stop him, however, the boy merely rubbed his fist into her hair, reducing it to a curly, tangled fuzz ball.

"Day! Let go of me." Frankie yelled, trying to break free from his grip.

"Hello, Squirt and—who is that?" the boy she had referred to as 'Day' asked her.

"This is my friend Tom Riddle." she replied. Tom gave a small wave out of respect, but the boy just stared at him, blankly.

"Since when have you been friends with a Slytherin boy, Squirt?" the boy inquired, turning his attention back to Frankie.

"We’ve been friends since before school started." Tom answered for her. He glared at this strange boy, the flames of his anger growing larger. The boy acted like he'd known Frankie much longer then he, putting his arms around her and giving her a ridiculous nickname. Why he had known her for two years and hadn't barely touched her let alone call her something else besides 'Frankie', or sometimes the occasional 'idiot', if you could call that a nickname. "Who are you?"

"I'm Rodger Day, this girl's Prefect and mentor." he replied, finally deciding to introduce himself.

"What? When have you ever mentored me in anything?" Frankie argued. It was an absurd lie. Roger was possibly the worst possible Prefect let alone 'mentor'. He barely had told her where the girl's lavatory was let alone teach her anything. She had to go to Alice for pretty much any questions she had.

"I mentor you all the time."

"You liar!"

"I'd better be going back to my common room now." Tom stated, standing up to leave. He was feeling more and more out of place by the second and this loud Rodger Day was starting to give him a bit of a headache.

"I'll see you tomorrow though, right?" Frankie inquired, hastily.

"Of course you'll see me. Tomorrow is Sunday, after all." he answered back, with what almost looked like a miniscule smile. She waved goodbye and he left for the Slytherin dorms.

"You scared him away, Day!" Frankie shouted, as soon as Tom had exited out of the Great Hall doors.

"I didn't do anything." Rodger claimed. Though it was quite obvious Tom did leave because of Rodger. He definitely would have stayed if he had not shown up.

"I can't believe I'm stuck here with you for all Christmas vacation." she groaned.

"Lucky you," Rodger grinned, charismatically. All of a sudden, a third year girl sitting behind them at the Hufflepuff table dropped one of her textbooks while she was getting up and the buckle that was on it slipped off. It started growling and chomping its newly free jaws, as the girl shrieked and jumped up onto the bench. "My parents wanted me to finally meet my fiancée, but I'd rather stay here at school with you then meet _that_ girl."

"Your what?" Frankie asked. She was unable to hear him over the screams of panic and more people hopping up on the table benches, so the book didn't bite their legs off.

"It's nothing, Squirt." Rodger replied, suddenly standing up on the bench as well. He picked her up along with him, to make sure she was safe, and when the book came around he leaped on top of it. Rodger gestured for the Hufflepuff girl to hand him the buckle as he wrestled to keep it shut, and she got up off the bench, retrieved the buckle from the floor and handed it to him, quickly. There was a mild applause as he buckled it and handed it back to her. Rodger gave Frankie one of his goofiest grins and lifted her up off the bench. "Come along, then! Let's head back to our common room too."

The next morning was Christmas at last. Frankie had woken up extra early and went down to the common room immediately. She sat next to the lush, sweet smelling tree and stared at the glittering lights and the brightly wrapped gifts. Her friend's gifts for her sat in a small pile and even though this would be the first time she received Christmas gifts since her parents had died, she didn't really feel in the mood to open them. What was the point of it when they weren’t here to thank? Frankie heard footsteps coming from the girls dorms and turned around to see who. It was an older girl with dark black hair wrapped up into a bun and bright forest green eyes.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know there was anyone down here this early, thought all the first years went back home." she apologized. The girl started to walk back up the stairs, when she noticed Frankie's rather grim expression on what was supposed to be a very joyful day. "Is there something wrong?"

"Everyone in my year has gone back home for Christmas. I'm all alone."

"Even though no one in your year is gone, it doesn't mean you're the only one here." the girl barked, a bit more strictly then she should have. Yet, Frankie still smiled and nodded. The girl was right. Soon the rest of the Gryffindors that stayed behind would be down, not to mention she still had Tom standing by, waiting to spend the rest of the day with her. She was just being selfish. She was not actually alone.

"You're right." Frankie beamed, holding out her hand. "My name is Frankie Dickson and I'm a first year."

"I am Minerva McGonagall and I'm in the second year class. It's a pleasure to meet you." she answered, taking Frankie's hand and shaking it. They heard footsteps coming from the boy's stairs. Frankie prayed to god that it wouldn't be Rodger Day. She just made a new friend and was finally feeling better about the holiday. Thankfully it was the tall, blonde, lanky boy she knew from her year, Ethan Hawkins.

"Ethan! Merry Christmas!" Frankie shouted, waving at him from the other side of the tree. She felt bad. She had completely forgotten about him. He would've gone back to home with Dylan, Aidan and Quin, but his parents had disappeared. Well, not exactly. They were a part of a special task force of wizards who went back in time to fix time anomalies and persecute the witch or wizard responsible. They were given special Time Turners that would instantly send them back if a wizard started a time anomaly. Sometimes they were around and sometimes they weren't, they had absolutely no control. He must’ve gotten the notice they’d gone off again and decided to stick around school for the holidays.

"Merry Christmas to you too, Frankie!" Ethan smiled, waving back at her. "Are we the only ones here?"

"It appears that way for now. I know Rodger will be down soon, though." Frankie reported, getting up and pulling him over to Minerva by the tree.

They began chatting and having Christmas festivities at once. Minerva even told them all about being a second year and what they should expect. Soon they sat down to open their presents. Frankie opened all of her presents from her friends in Gryffindor. She had thought she had opened them all, but in another search of the tree there was a tiny small box hiding in the back of the tree. Frankie opened the box to find a little bottle filled with a pale blue liquid and a label that read,

_"Drink me."_

She stared at it in curiosity. It didn't say anything else. No further explanations or instructions, just to drink it. The bottle reminded her of _Alice's Adventures in Wonderland_ _,_ it was pretty much could be called her favorite muggle book. Curiously, she drank the tiny bottle. Suddenly, her back felt hot and she saw Minerva an Ethan duck out of the way as if something had almost hit them. Frankie saw feathers on the ground around her. She had grown huge white wings like a bird or a snowy owl.

"Wow…" she gaped weirdly she wasn't frightened or freaking out about fact that suddenly she was a bird mutant, nor was she really grasping the fact she now had wings. She flapped the wings almost hitting Ethan and Minerva again.

"Frankie, are you alright?" Minerva asked, trying to speak without almost getting smacked. Frankie nodded and suddenly raced upstairs to the girls dorms. Minerva quickly caught her idea and ran after her up the stairs pulling Ethan along with her. When they finally reached the first year girl's room, Frankie was already standing on the sill of the open window.

"Don't you dare!" Minerva yelled, standing in the doorway with Ethan. They tried to run and grab her, but it was too late.

She had already jumped.


	15. Eternal Snow

Tom found himself standing in a blank white space with nothing as far as the eye could see. Well, almost nothing. He looked down at a body that was lying at his feet in front of him. Whoever they were, they appeared to be dead. The corpse was a girl in a flowing white dress, which would've been blended with the nothing if not for the fact that it was splattered with blood. You could barely see her face through the hazel hair that scattered over her and lay out on the ground like the roots of a tree. Her skin was still soft and did not yet reek of death and decay. She really hadn't been dead for long and the only evidence of death was her still body, slightly curled in a fetal position, and the fact her entire body was covered with blood. How could this have happened to her?

_You did this. It was your fault. Killer! Monster!_

Did he really kill her, or was the voice merely lying to him? Tom may have been a tad sociopathic and wanted pretty everyone he knew to just disappear, but he wasn't a complete psychopath. He wasn't a murderer.

Tom eyes shot open. He was no longer standing over a freshly dead body, but was back in the empty dorm room, lying in his bed. All the Slytherins had gone home for Christmas, except for him and Peter. Now, Peter would've gone back with the others to Slytherin's Den if his parents were not currently traveling. His parents had apparently always wanted to travel after school, but instead they were forced into marriage and had him. So, they had never gotten the chance to go away until now, leaving Tom stuck with Peter all vacation. Tom looked over to Peter, who was currently sitting up in bed as well, staring at him.

"What are you looking at?" Tom snapped at him. Peter jumped a little, but did not retreat like he normally did. He could be very spineless at times, but for some reason not today.

"You woke me up. You were speaking some sort of foreign language in your sleep." Peter explained, in his defense. "It sounded a lot like Parseltongue..."

"What's Parseltongue?" Tom asked. He hadn't heard of whatever that was, for once. He had decided to skip the whole 'raised by muggles' innocence by reading everything he possibly could about this world. It was probably the first time he had asked someone else a question about something here.

"It's the ability to talk to snakes. However, it's an extremely rare ability. The only well-known Parselmouth was Salazar Slytherin himself." Peter answered. "I highly doubt that was it, though. It was probably German. You're originally from Germany or Albania or something, right?"

"No, I was born and raised in London. I only know English." Tom replied, sounding a bit irritate and confused. Where'd he hear that rubbish? Had the boys become so listless, since he wouldn't tell them anything about himself, that they were just starting to make stuff up about him? "It's not like Mrs. Cole would've paid to for us to go to regular school, let alone language school."

"Who?" Peter asked.

"Never mind." Tom replied, forgetting Peter didn't know who that was. He turned away from him, signaling he was through with him and could just go now. Tom began thinking about this information he had given him. He actually _was_ able to talk to snakes. Mrs. Cole would take the whole orphanage to the country every summer for a small vacation, as if they were able to get a vacation from being orphans. However, he'd sit reading in the tall, golden grass and the snakes would come find him. They'd have trivial conversations; sometimes alert him when supper was nearly ready. Tom had always thought it was just part of his peculiarity and he was just speaking normal English, no one had ever been around to tell him otherwise. Was he really speaking a whole different language? He was about to ask Peter more, but he had left in Tom's silence to go open gifts. Tom wasn't too bothered, though. He'd get better information if he went to the library anyway.

He was preparing to leave for the library, slightly forgetting he actually had somewhere he needed to be soon, when he heard the faintest tap on the window. Tom twisted around to face the window, but it looked like there was nothing there. He thrust it open and casually craned his head out to see what it had been. It just looked like the normal view of the Black Lake. You could even see the lone tree off in the distance. Most people didn't know, but the common room itself was completely submerged and the actual dorms were actually a good fifteen to twenty feet above the water. It gave them a pretty authentic seaside view and not gain a complete fear of drowning. Tom closed the window and had turned back into the dorm, when he could hear the noise once more. Except this time he could faintly see the shadow in the white snowy glare. The figure at the window was big enough to be a human. Tom grabbed his wand off his nightstand and slowly reopened the window. The figure was a girl with huge white wings sprouted out of her back and was wearing a fluttering white dress. He had ended up pointing his wand at the girl in his dream.

"Merry Christmas, Tom!" Frankie exclaimed, as she glided from the window sill on to the floor. Tom on the other hand was standing there looking just the slightest bit baffled at the girl who had just flown in through the window.

"What are those?" Tom demanded, tugging on one of the wings. After the miniscule second of shock, he didn't look the least bit happy to see her, nor was he actually. She shouldn't be here, especially with those.

"They're wings of course, Tom." she replied, as she flapped the one he was holding out of his grasp.

"And what are they doing on your back? The last time I checked, you're not an owl…" he hissed back, rather coldly. Tom wasn't trying to act cold to her, but his dream aspect of her was still bothering him. She looked exactly like she had in the dream and it was extremely unsettling.

"Where is your house?" Frankie inquired, looking around at all the empty beds.

"They've all gone back home. It's just me and Peter." Tom responded. He was even more grateful for them all going back home in this moment. A Gryffindor girl in their room, why they probably would've had a riot.

"It's just me and Ethan, for the first years in Gryffindor. Oh, they'll be worried about me just jumping out the window like that…I've got to head back." Frankie stammered, jumping back onto the sill. "I'll explain everything on our walk. I'll see you in an hour."

Tom had reflectively tried to grab her hand as she jumped, but he could not get it in time. He looked down expecting to see her falling and her bloody corpse to look exactly as it had in his dream. However, after a brief fall, she stretched her wings and glided effortlessly through the sky, as if she had been flying her entire life. He saw her fly back up to what must’ve been Gryffindor tower and being forcibly pulled into the window by someone upon her arrival. Suddenly, the door to dorm room opened and Tom quickly shut the window.

"Tom, is everything alright? I thought I heard a voice. Who were you talking too?" Peter inquired, craning his head in the crack of the door.

"No one, obviously. You must've been hearing things, Peter. There's no one else here…"

"Are you crazy? You could have died!" Minerva lectured, grabbing Frankie’s arm and quickly shutting the window. The three walked down the stairs and back to the common room, with Ethan holding the wings together to fit in the staircase and Minerva lecturing the whole time, like she was their mother. "—And what if a teacher saw you?! You could've been expelled."

"What's happening, Squirt?" a voice could be heard, walking down the opposite staircase. It was, of course, Rodger, still half asleep and in his pajamas.

"It is nothing, Day. Go back to sleep." Frankie tried arguing, seeing if he was to asleep to notice what was going on.

"How could I possibly go back to sleep when an angel has descended this Christmas morning?" Rodger replied, suddenly looking wide awake, with a wide cockish grin.

"Shut it!" Frankie yelled, at his obvious joke.

"How are you supposed to get rid of these anyway?" Ethan asked, still having the wings in hand. They all ran over to the little box that the bottle had come from, but it gave them no answers. It hadn't even said who gave it to her.

"She’ll have to go to the hospital wing, maybe even St. Mungos." Minerva stated, after their close examination of the box. She grabbed Frankie's wrist and tried to walk her out of the portrait hole. However, Frankie struggled as much as she could.

"I'm okay! Really, I’m perfectly fine." Frankie shrieked, desperately trying to stay in the common room. She had spent an entire year in hospitalization before going to the orphanage and she had no intention of going back to one for quite some time. It was not like she exactly feared the hospital. It wasn't too scary, from what she could remember of it, but it would still bring up some rather unpleasant memories. Ones that she’d sooner still forget.

"Come on, Minerva. Listen to her, she's fine." Rodger argued, as he tightened his grip onto her other wrist. They both tugged and Ethan was still trying to keep her wings together so they wouldn't hit anyone. Frankie was starting to feel very cluttered and trapped by it all. Why wouldn't they just disappear?

Suddenly, Ethan was being forced to let go of the wings and was thrown back onto the ground. Frankie tried to turn around to see what happened. She didn't do it. They expanded to their span, hitting Rodger and Minerva, and then suddenly went speeding into her back like the lines on a ship. They were gone, leaving nothing but askew feathers in their wake.

"Well, it looks like I won't need a hospital then." Frankie laughed, in a meager attempt to take away some of the serious and shocked looks they were giving her.

“Yeah, Minerva. It was probably one of those ‘Thirty-Minute Transfiguration Potions’ they sell at Zonko’s. She’s going to be fine,” Rodger reasoned, immediately replacing the shock with casualness and calm. He put his arm around her and started directing her towards the stairs, “Why don’t you just go back upstairs, get Alice and, as the Prefects, we’ll decide what to do about this situation and punish who’s responsible. Okay?”

"Fine, I’ll go get Alice.” Minerva sighed. She shoved off Rodger Day, rubbing her forehead in apparent pain, as she headed up the girl’s dormitory steps. She climbed them without another word, however, she looked back at Frankie with a concerned expression. She still seemed to be worried about Frankie, as if she was worried about the wings suddenly coming back. With nothing much more to say and much more to do, Frankie and Ethan quickly grabbed their presents and ran to their rooms, as well. Frankie dumped the loot onto her bed, changed into something more appropriate for the falling snow, wrapped her Gryffindor scarf around her neck and left for the Great Hall. Tom was already waiting in front of the Great Hall when she got there, leaning up against the wall mindlessly watching the people filtering in and out.

"Were you waiting long?" Frankie asked, as she walked over to him.

"Not as long as usual." Tom responded. He kept staring at her back expecting to see the wings, but they had vanished without even the slightest trace that they had ever been there. Was he just imagining she flew into his room? They exited the school in silence, despite Tom's growing curiosity to know what that whole business was about. The snow was now falling a little more rapidly as the two walked along the path away from school. Frankie kept looking over at him like she want to say something, but kept silent until they were almost there.

"Where is your scarf, Tom?" she asked, suddenly breaking the silence. Tom sighed, obviously disappointed. It wasn’t the right subject they should’ve been talking about.

"I left it back at the dorm on accident. I'll be fine." he lied. The truth was that he would've have rather gone cold then wear that ridiculous striped scarf. She started to unwrap her scarf and rewrap it around both of their necks, quickly. If it were anyone else he'd think they were trying to strangle him, however, this was her. So, Tom patiently waited, instead of struggling and cursing, as she wrapped it around them.

"I don't want you to get sick." Frankie mumbled, once she was finished. He didn't say a thing. Tom wouldn't admit that he actually felt a lot more comfortable than he had before. Just as they were going to try walking conjoined, they saw Professor Slughorn trudging up the path towards them.

"Good day, you two." Slughorn smiled, paying no attention that the two looked as if they were attached by the neck.

"Where are you off to, sir?" Tom asked.

"I've just been at the Three Broomsticks, down in Hogsmeade. I'm on my way back to the castle now, though." Slughorn answered. He looked at the two skeptically, now. Perhaps, he just got that the two were wrapped in the same scarf. Or maybe it was the fact that a Slytherin and a Gryffindor were out there in the snow together in the first place. Slughorn had never seen them together outside of class before, like most, and wasn’t quite sure of what to make of them. "And, why are you two out of the castle?"

"We're just on a walk, Professor." Frankie replied, “We take one every Sunday.”

"A walk? In this weather. You two sure are quite an unusual pair…" Slughorn remarked. Frankie and Tom both nodded in agreement with him. It couldn't be argued that they were an odd pair. Although, a bit shocked, Slughorn didn’t look the least bit mad about it. Tom silently prayed for no more reaction beyond that. Slughorn was the head of Slytherin house, he of all people must have had an opinion on the rivalry and not be too happy to find a member of his house in this situation with a Gryffindor. However, he merely smiled and moved to walk past them, "Alright then, I suppose I'll see you when the new term begins. Merry Christmas, to you both!"

Slughorn trudged onwards in the snow, leaving the two behind him. Tom and Frankie began walking again. The two sat back-to-back beneath the tree, the thick scarf still wrapped around their necks, even though there was half a foot of snow on the ground already. Frankie began to tell him about her first Christmas here. Even though she had claimed she practically had no one to spend it with, she had already had quite an adventure.

"…That's how I grew wings on my back—"

"You idiot!" Tom shouted at her. How could she have been that stupid? "You shouldn't go drinking strange potions. It could've been poisonous."

"What? Who would want to poison me?" Frankie inquired, curiously. Tom immediately could think of three heartless girls who would like nothing more than to do just that. Frankie, however, was to sweetly innocent to think they would go so far.

"Look the point is, you should be more careful with these kinds of things. You got that? Use that brain of yours. I know you have one." Tom stated, sternly. He unraveled the scarf from around his neck and got up. For a second, she thought he was going to leave her there. He was properly mad at her. Then, he turned to offer her a hand up. "Come along, idiot. Let's go back, before we bloody freeze to death."

Frankie flashed a small smile and nodded quietly. Then, she took his hand, brushed the snow off her butt, and they both headed back to the castle together.


	16. Could you do me a Favor?

Five days of running around with Ethan, shirking all studying they probably should have been doing, talking with Minerva in the common room after supper about the various things on her mind, and watching Rodger and Alice argue over pretty much everything and anything that came up. Frankie soon no longer felt lonely or abandoned. She actually felt a sense of home for the first time ever. Her life was pretty amazing. In a matter of months, she had gone from a parentless orphan with practically nothing, to a student at a magic school with a decent amount of friends, who were beginning to really care about her. She even got to still see her best friend on a regular basis, despite being separated by warring houses. For most it probably wouldn't be considered all that much, but for her it was everything. She couldn’t have been any happier.

Five days later, it was the morning of the 31st of December, 1938 and Frankie was rushing to get ready, as usual. However, today was actually a very special day. Today was Tom's birthday. Now, it was usually drowned out by New Year's Eve celebrations and the fact that the other orphans didn't really want to celebrate the birthday of someone who they believed was the son of Satan, so Tom really had never had anyone to be excited about his birthday. She had promised him that she would spend the whole day with him. They were supposed to meet promptly at ten and it was nine-thirty as Frankie slipped on her shoes. After being scolded by Tom many times for it, she had given herself a lot of extra time so she wouldn't be late. She even borrowed Dumbledore’s pocket watch, just to be on the safe side.

Unfortunately, the pocket watch wasn’t exactly like a normal pocket watch. It was obviously something of Dumbledore’s invention. It had twelve hands that were different lengths, different colors, and were twirling around the face at different speeds. In lieu of numbers, it had a multitude of planets orbiting around the circle. Dumbledore briefly explained how the watch worked, when she borrowed it yesterday, and Frankie took it with a confident lie that she understood. She was too kind to tell him that his watch was like one of those nonsensical acronyms people make up to remember something. Generally confusing and usually hard to remember for everyone, but the person who made it up.

Regardless, Frankie had accepted it and was deciphering the strange device as she descended all the stairs. She was on the second floor at what was probably nine forty-five, when she suddenly felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Ah, Frankie. Hold up one moment!"

She turned around to see Gwendolyn Hanes, a Hufflepuff from her year. They were in the same telescope group in Astronomy, which all first years had together on Wednesday nights. Gwendolyn was a muggle-born witch, who was also quite fond of reading, like her and Tom. She and Frankie often chatted about their favorite muggle novels and fairytales during their lesson.

"Hello Gwen! How are you today?" Frankie smiled.

"Fine. I was just asked to give you this." Gwendolyn smiled back. She tucked back a piece of her short blonde hair as she handed Frankie the note in her other hand.

"Oh, really. Well, let's see…"

Frankie carefully unfolded it and started to read,

_"Ms. Dickson,_

_Would you kindly pick up some potion ingredients for me from Professor Beery? I would do it myself, but I've been rather busy preparing for next terms lessons and I’m sure he has been too. Also, would you try to get some Unicorn Hair from the gamekeeper, Ogg? I've tried to get some from him for ages, but he won't budge. He's a lot softer on students so he might give some to you._

_-Professor Slughorn_ _"_

"Oh dear…"

"What is it? Is anything wrong?" Gwen inquired, noticing Frankie's slight change in expression.

"Nothing to serious, I guess. I still have some time." Frankie replied, checking the pocket watch, but it giving her no quick answer about the time. She really had no choice but to go and run the errands. She was pretty sure she couldn't say no to a teacher, especially one of her favorites. It really wouldn't take that long and Tom was already expecting her to be late anyways.

"Alright, I'll see you later then." Gwen laughed, as she waved goodbye. Frankie waved back, till she was completely out of site and then ran off towards the greenhouses to go see the Herbology teacher.

Professor Beery tended to remind people of a much older Tom. His neat black hair was greying and he was in a perpetual state of being grumpy to everyone, with the small exception of Tom and Frankie. Whatever it was about them must've been what he sought of in students.

"Oh, that man… he’s always taking all my plants for his ingredients." he sighed, after Frankie explained why she was there. He picked off a few things, tore off a few leaves here and there, then placed them all into a bag and handed it to her.

"Thank you, sir. Goodbye!" Frankie exclaimed, making a break for the exit greenhouse at once. It was already ten-fifteen. She was fifteen minutes late.

"Are you sure you wouldn't like to stay for tea? I've been growing some splendid tea leaves this term." Professor Beery inquired.

"I would love too, professor, but I really must be off." she answered, making a rush for the door. Frankie still needed to see the gamekeeper, not to mention go to Professor Slughorn to give him the ingredients. That would definitely take more than five minutes. She hurried down to the path to a small brick cottage at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, where the gamekeeper of the school lived.

"Excuse me." Frankie chimed, knocking on the door. No one answered. So, she tried again. " _Excuse me_ _._ Is anyone home?"

She kept trying and trying, but it was no use. It wasn't a while, until she was just rapidly hitting the door. Frankie finally turned away after the hundredth knock or so. It was ten-forty-five. Her fist hurt and she was almost an hour late. She might as well just head up to Slughorn's without the hairs.

"What's going on? If someone is at the door, you're going to have to come around!" an angry voice yelled at her, from behind the cabin. Someone was there after all.

She went around back to find the gamekeeper. Frankie had only seen him in the dark on the night they arrived so his features had always been a little fuzzy. He was a rather burly, tall man with dark eyes and a bit of stubble on his chin. The man would've been a bit intimidating if he wasn't holding the reins of a pearly white horse, trying to feed it a carrot.

"Beautiful! What a lovely horse." Frankie marveled, trying to pet its snout. The horse backed away and whinnied at her.

"That ain't no horse. It's a unicorn. He's not feeling too well something in the forest must have got him..." he said. Frankie now saw the sparkling white horn upon the horses head. She looked into the deep black eyes and held out her hand once more. He still looked at it quite skeptically, yet was slowly inching nearer to it. He ended up letting her pet him, concluding she wasn't actually trying to hurt him.

"You must be good with animals. Usually, when there sick like this, they'll ignore even women. It was tough getting him out of the forest for some medicine." Ogg remarked, with a bit of surprise in his voice.

"Not really. I've just read a lot of books on magical creatures." Frankie smiled, as she continued to pet the unicorn's snout.

"Who are you anyway?" he asked, sounding a bit skeptic.

"My name is Frankie and I'm a first year in Gryffindor."

"It's uncommon to see a first year taking interest in magical creatures." Ogg stated. The Care of Magical Creatures class was taught by Professor Silvanus Kettleburn and wasn't offered until year three.

It was not one of the more popular elective courses, either...

Professor Kettleburn was quite a psychotic character whose recklessness and crazy lessons usually got someone sent to the hospital wing every week. She had heard Rodger even thank the heavens one day that Kettleburn was sick and Ogg was substituting. Sometimes at breakfast she saw him put squid ink in his cereal.

"Magical creatures are very important to the wizarding world. Most importantly, they are necessary for a wand's core and without wand cores we don't have wands, without wands we are pretty much powerless." Frankie explained, forgetting she was talking to someone who had probably spent his whole life studying about them. "Where would we be without them?"

"I like your thinking." Ogg chuckled. "Now, hand me that over there brush, would ya?"

Frankie rushed over to the stump where the large brush lay and handed it to him. He began to brush the unicorn's tail, until many silver hairs got stuck in the brush.

"If this keeps up, he isn't going to have a tail left!"

"If it's not too much trouble can I have them, sir?" Frankie inquired, suddenly remembering that's what she came here to do. Ogg looked at her suspiciously.

"I suppose…Only if you promise not to give them to that Slughorn, though! I don't trust him with something like these." he agreed, as he picked them out of the brush. Frankie nodded, promising she wouldn't. He tied the shiny hairs into a neat little bundle with some twine from his vest pocket and handed them to her. "Also don't call me sir. Ogg is just fine."

"Okay!" Frankie smiled, turning to leave.

"If you're interested in magical creatures, you should come back again some time." Ogg yelled, from his cabin.

"I will." she yelled back, turning around to wave good bye. As she turned, she stopped momentarily to see something shuffle in the forest. She would’ve dismissed it as a magical creature, but it was blonde haired and been staring at her. Frankie checked the watch to see if she had any time to pursue this, only to end up deducing it was twelve o' clock. She was two hours late. Frankie broke out into a sprint across the field and ran as fast as her short legs could carry her. She was almost to the entrance of the school when Rodger Day of course had to come and obstruct her path.

"Frankie! Where have you been all day?"

"Not now Rodger! I don't have time to chat."

"I actually do have something important to ask you."

"Well, spit it out! Hurry up."

"Ethan went wandering off a while ago. Have you seen him?"

"Ah! The Forbidden Forest! I saw him going into the forest." Frankie shouted. While she was talking to Ogg she thought she had saw a flash of Ethan's blond hair head into the forest in the corner of her eye. She dismissed it, being distracted already by to many things to worry about what was probably just her imagination.

"And, why the hell didn't you stop him? It's called the Forbidden Forest for a reason!" Rodger snapped at her.

"I wasn't really paying attention!" she snapped back.

"Come on! We have to go get him." he stated, grabbing her by the hand. The two ran back down the hill to Ogg's cabin at the edge of the forest. They ran to the back garden to enter the forest and to warn Ogg only to find Ogg and Ethan.

"Didn't think you'd come back so soon?" Ogg laughed, despite Frankie and Rodger's panicked expressions. Ethan was standing beside him holding a vial of something silvery, looking completely unharmed.

"Hi, Frankie. What are you doing back here? Did you forget something?" Ethan greeted.

"I just realized that I saw you going into the forest. Are you alright?" Frankie huffed, out-of-breath.

"Don't worry, I had permission. Aidan, Quin, and I got detention before holiday, so I thought I'd just get it out of the way now. I was walking to get Ogg, but he was with you. So, I thought I'd just wait in there, till you were done. I wasn't too far in." he explained.

"So, we came running down for nothing." she groaned, glaring at Rodger a bit. Frankie reached for the pocket watch. "Ah! I'm really late. I have to go."

“Hey, isn’t that—“

Frankie was off before he could question her about possibly stealing a teacher’s belonging. She was out of breath and it took forever to trek back up to the castle as she was slowly losing all her energy. Not to mention the stairs she had to climb to get to Slughorn's office. It was two o' clock.

"Ah, Frankie. What a pleasure to see you, my dear." Professor Slughorn beamed, as she entered. She only handed him the bag of ingredient keeping the unicorn hairs hidden behind her back. He looked a little bewildered, "I don't remember asking you to do this, but thank you anyway. A late holiday gift, I suppose."

"You asked me to get these, though, Professor." Frankie claimed, sounding rather confused.

"Are you sure you're feeling quite alright? You might want to consider taking a bit of a nap. You still have a few hours till supper time." he remarked, looking at the clock on his desk. Frankie looked at the clock as well, not wanting to even bother trying to decipher the pocket watch again, and sure enough it was now two-ten. She was beyond being just simply late. Frankie was supposed to meet Tom about four hours ago. She stormed out of Slughorn's office, without giving the mysterious errands Slughorn had apparently not given her another thought, and ran down the hall. Today was growing shorter and it was a very special day.

Tom stood in front of the Great Hall, waiting for Frankie in his usual waiting spot. He had been waiting all day, but she still hadn't come around yet. She said she wanted to spend his birthday with him and she seemed to be really excited about it too. He hadn't even been that excited about it and, quite frankly, still wasn’t. Not only did he think it an idiotic thing to celebrate, but it was also the day his mother died. She gave up her will to keep on living and left him in that orphanage to rot. In fact this day made him just a little bit angrier, if anything. However, Frankie was thrilled about his birthday. He figured she was so ecstatic about it because she’s never had a friend to give a gift to, or wish a happy birthday to, in the past.

"Are you waiting for someone, Tom?" a voice asked him. Tom wasn't even listening to what the voice said to him. He just whipped around expecting to yell at a jumbled Frankie for being so very late. However, he turned to see Leri, giving him a devilish grin.

"What are you doing here? I thought you went home." Tom demanded.

"I came back early. I couldn't miss your birthday now, could I?" Leri replied. Tom suddenly hated today fifty times more than he already had.

"Look, what do you want, you cow?" he shouted, turning away from her.

"I want you to give up."

"Give up what?"

"For someone so smart, you're so thick." Leri laughed. Tom remained silent, not wanting to expand on her stupidity. "If you're looking for a cute little Gryffindor, she's been running around the castle trying to avoid you."

"Now, why would she do that?" Tom snarled. The little patience he had was thinning.

"Someone must have told her."

" _What_? Who told her _what_?" he hissed at her, losing any sense of composure. This day, this girl, they were both making him angrier by the second.

"Gryffindors and Slytherins have always been enemies. It's pointless for her to try and be friends with someone you’ll ultimately hate in the end. She doesn't have a chance with you," Leri claimed, “You're a Slytherin. You're better than her.”

"You don't know me at all, Leri. Just leave me alone.” Tom growled, trying to compose himself once more after his outburst. He finally started walking away. Frankie clearly wasn't going to show up and four hours of waiting his anger had actually reached a peak he didn't even know it had. Then, there was Leri…He shouldn't care about what that awful girl thought and walk away before she starts to infect him. Leri expected this and grabbed his wrist to stop him.

"Just listen to me for one second, Tom. She is a Gryffindor. There is a ninety percent chance she will fancy and marry another Gryffindor, same goes for all the other houses," Leri explained. He yanked his wrist out of her hand, but stopped trying to walk away. The words were sinking in, despite how much he wished for them not to, "It's useless to even try to be with someone like her. You'll just end up all alone in the end."

Tom would not want to admit it, but her words had stung of somewhat of a truth. Every book he had read on the school had not exactly said the houses were mortal enemies, however, their values and attitudes were polar opposites. Frankie was a Gryffindor, strong, brave and honest. He was a Slytherin, perfectionist, determined and power hungry. They didn't fit together.

Then, he saw her running down the hallway, her hazel hair flowing behind her in her mad rush to get to him. Tom could've spotted her a mile away. He suddenly made a break for the stairs and began to climb them, unsure where he was going. He just needed to get away.

Frankie finally arrived at the spot where she usually met Tom, however, he wasn't there. There, instead, stood Leri. Smiling happily to herself. Triumphant at last.


	17. A Lonely Orphan's Desired Future

The next day, Tom sat mindlessly watching the Slytherins pile back in from winter holiday, with what Leri had said still sticking to his mind. It was supposed to be complete and utter crap and yet for some reason his mind kept dawdling on it. It brought up a whole bunch of questions that he had tried to shove to the back of his mind ever since he got to this school. What exactly was his relationship with Frankie? Did he hate her or was there even the slightest chance he actually felt something real for her? She had always been radically different than him and he hated that about her at first, but then he found out they had one major thing in common. _Magic_. Tom had thought the only reason he kept her around was because she was the only other one like him. He just ignored the fact she had a completely opposite personality from him because he needed her. He needed someone who knew the pain of having these strange, freakish powers that could not be explained. Then, suddenly, there are hundreds and thousands of people just like them and he yet he still chose to have her stay by his side. Tom wouldn't have kept her around if he had hated her. So, how did he feel about her really?

" _I am a girl, you know?"_

He hadn't really ever thought of her as a girl before, but apparently she was one. Also, apparently he thought her different from all the other girls, even somewhat special. So, the simple logical answer would be that he fancied her. He really never thought about fancying anyone or romance at all. In general, from what he'd seen, it all looked quite stupid and idiotic. Couples holding hands as they walked passed him on the street, snuggling closely at the cinema to one of those nauseating romantic movies, it was all excruciating to even think about. Tom could never imagine that ever happening to someone like him, nor did he ever want it to. Also, Frankie has never shown the slightest interest towards him at all, Tom would’ve known it immediately if she had. The concept that she could have romantic feelings for him seemed absolutely preposterous. Why would she fancy anyone, let alone an angry sociopathic boy like him? The fact Frankie had even stayed beside him as they started school was short of a miracle. She's just kind to everybody and he probably was just misinterpreting her kindness as something more. Then, there was how he treated her. He might've been nicer to her than others, however, he still wasn't very kind to her most of the time. She would be better off without him, quite honestly. Maybe Leri was right. Not saying that he would accept her affections instead, but maybe his friendship with Frankie was just a means to an end…

" _We're back!"_

The group of Gryffindor girls stormed into the dorm room, shouting and screaming, expecting to see Frankie scream back and hug them. However, she sat on the edge of her bed, hugging her knees. She should've been ecstatic to see her friends had returned, after all that complaining and pouting she had done, but she held a trance-like stare into space, not even acknowledging that they walked in.

"Frankie, what's wrong? Did something happen?" Dylan asked, noticing Frankie's glum expression and rushing to her side. The other girls ran over to see what was going on as well. After a round of begging and even a threat to drag her around on the floor until she spilled, Frankie told them everything that happened while they were gone.

"It must be Leri who’s behind this." Dylan growled, as she squeezed one of Frankie's fluffy pillows to death. "Urgh, those Slytherin girls are just so vile."

"Absolutely. I can't believe they would do something so horrible." Katy replied.

"They're just so despicable!" Sarah added.

"I know Leri has done some awful things, but you girls shouldn't say things like that. We can't always blame her and the Slytherin girls for everything that goes wrong." Frankie insisted. Just because Leri had been there didn’t necessarily mean that she was the culprit. It was all her own fault, in her own mind. She was the one who was five hours late and Tom had probably gotten tired of waiting after the first hour. There was no way he would’ve actually waited that long for her. However, she could tell the other girls weren't listening whatsoever.

"You know what I say? I say it's war time Gryffindor girls. Let's take down those Slytherins!" Bina boomed, raising her fist in the air. The other girls cheered in agreement and support of the prospect of destroying the Slytherins. However, Frankie managed to slip out as they started formulating their plans. It was Sunday, after all. Tom walked away when he saw her approaching, but maybe he had just grown tired of waiting. He probably wasn't too angry with her, or at least, hopefully not too angry to miss a Sunday walk.

Tom would not dare go to their meeting spot today of all days. He had made up his mind to finally cut her off and went out merely to get away from his annoying roommates for a moment. This would be the first Sunday walk that they wouldn't meet and he had to assure himself it was for the best. Tom was walking down the corridor when he saw Frankie walking a few feet away. She didn't notice him, but you could see she was still searching for him. Frankie was looking around as she headed for the spot that they usually met in. Tom briskly walked down the corridor, to the nearest classroom door and dove inside. He very rarely ran away like that, in fact it was probably a first, but for some reason he just couldn't face her now.

Tom looked into the classroom only to see himself standing there. He recoiled slightly before realizing it was only a mirror. A great grand mirror in a gilded golden frame stood in the center of the abandoned classroom. The mirror clearly didn't look like it belonged there among the tattered books and desks carelessly shoved to the side. It glimmered in the dim day light and shone of great value. He did not recognize it from any book he had ever read, so it must've just been an extravagant mirror, surely.

He was about to turn away, however, something caught his eye. Tom slowly approached the mirror to gaze at his reflection closer inside of the glistening frame. The reflection that he saw stare back at him was not him. A different Tom had taken his reflection's place, the same neat black hair and slightly angered expression as Tom. However, he was wearing a nice tailored suit and was looking much older, more professional and more powerful than Tom was. He stared at the older version of himself in bewilderment and even though Tom couldn't see it he could feel it.

This man was… _immortal._

Then, Tom noticed a figure had appeared at his reflection's side. It was a woman. Her hazel brown locks fell gracefully onto her shoulders and she was smiling at him, warmly, like she always does. She bent down to his level and put her hand on the glass. Tom's face was right in front of her hands and he couldn't help but stare at the black stone ring on her left ring finger. Were the two were married? He rapidly spun around, expecting her to be standing behind him, but she wasn't there. Tom circled the mirror, intrigued and confused. What was this magic? He continued to gaze into the mirror for the longest time, before he realized there was somewhere else he needed to be to make this image a reality.

" _The mirror must have shown me the future."_

Tom ran out of the classroom immediately, after this misguided thought. However, his mind had never felt so clear to him. There was a reason he pushed everyone away but her, a reason she stood in that mirror beside him. Somehow along their time together she must've gotten under his skin and into his veins. He didn't hate her.

He loved her.

He didn't know he could feel something for anyone, let alone this feeling at all, but what else could it had been? There was no one else worthy of standing beside him other than that girl. He had to be in love with her. Screw what Leri said, it didn't matter if they were in opposing houses. He and Frankie were together far before that and if the Gryffindors and the Slytherins weren't allowed to be together, then they would just be the first to do it. Frankie sat in their meeting spot in front of the Great Hall, hugging her knees and looking very glum, practically no different than she had been in her room. She had been waiting for him, even though she knew he was mad at her.

"I'm—sorry—I'm sorry for making you wait all this time." Tom huffed, out-of-breath. He never ran for anything, like he never ran away from anything. Whether it was to get supper at the orphanage, or playing with the other orphans in his younger years, he had never ever felt the need to run. However, it seemed like almost every time he did, he was always running because of her.

"It's okay. Now, we're even…"Frankie smiled. Tom felt a small wave of relief wash over him and had somewhat of a smile. He hadn't screwed things up with her, not yet at least. Tom extended his arm to help her up and the two walked out of the castle to head out on their Sunday walk.

Frankie told him the reason she had been so late and he realized instantly that it had been Leri's fault all along. Tom should have just let her explain when she had gotten there. Frankie really had wanted to spend his birthday with him, but Leri had tricked her, taking advantage of Frankie's kind demeanor.

And he would make her pay for it this time…

They were almost at the tree when they heard loud voices shouting by the lake. It appeared there were already around ten people in their spot, shouting about something. Tom and Frankie tip-toed slightly on the other side of the tree to see the four other Gryffindor girls and the five Slytherin girls in a heated discussion.

"That's right you heard us. We challenge you Slytherin to a game of Quidditch!" Bina fumed at them. The Slytherin girls whispered amongst themselves for a moment, reviewing the task and debating. Then, they all turned back to the Gryffindors.

"We will accept your challenge. However, if we win, your team has to do whatever we say for the rest of the year," Leri responded. She noticed Frankie and Tom standing slightly behind the tree, both looking pretty confused about what was happening. She fumed a little more, realizing her efforts yesterday had all been in vain. "Also that little relationship, the one trying to hide itself behind the tree, is over."

"Our _friendship_ is not some object to gamble with, you know. I won't accept these idiotic terms." Tom snapped.

"What if we win?" Dylan asked, ignoring Tom's outburst like he wasn't even there.

"Same terms, but reversed. We won't bother your precious _'_ _friendship_ _'_ for the rest of the year." Leri answered.

"You mean the rest of your lives," Tom shouted back at her. Then, he muttered chillingly under his breath, _"_ _If those last any longer…_ _"_

"I can't promise that now." Leri claimed, pretending to not hear his threat. "Those are our terms. Take them or leave them."

"We accept your terms." Bina declared. Tom shot her the most tremendous glare he could muster. _She can't be serious._ He finally knew what that feeling was about Frankie and now, in one stupid bet, that could be all over before it even started.

"However, your team can only be first years. No upperclassmen allowed." Dylan added. All the Slytherin girls glared at her, heavily, most likely planning to do just that.

"Very well, then. However, the boys in our year are allowed and we get till early June to train properly." Leri ordered. The Gryffindor girls nodded in agreement and Bina and Leri shook hands on it. The bet was officially on.

"I know you said revenge, but why a game of Quidditch?" Frankie asked, as soon as the Slytherin girls began to retreat.

"Truthfully, it was the only idea we could think of without getting expelled." Bina answered.

"I've never even played Quidditch, though." Frankie protested.

"It's going to be alright. We have plenty of time to practice and I'm sure Aidan and Quin will help us too," Dylan smiled at her, with a wink. She finally noticed Tom was beside her, despite having been there throwing out venomous death vibes at them all for the past few minutes. "Come on girls! We should be leaving now…"

"Why did it have to be Quidditch? I'm rubbish at sports." Frankie pouted, collapsing at the base of the tree.

"I'm sure you'll do fine." Tom sighed, sitting down next to her on the cool crisp grass.

"Thanks, but do you remember that game at the orphanage?"

"Yes, of course." he responded, looking back on it. It was back in the week before the Billy Stubb incident, before the two had become friends. Tom remembered desperately wanting to laugh at her, but not wanting her to know that he was actually watching her from the little white table in the garden instead of reading. She fell about 5 times and only scored a goal once and it was the wrong goal. "That's a muggle sport, though. You'll be better at wizard sport, I'm sure."

"I'll give it my best shot." Frankie beamed. The two left a little while later, they were not given too much time because of the outburst, and went to the Great Hall for supper. Frankie met Dylan at the front and they both waved him goodbye. The two girls now walked to their own table and sat down in the first set of open seats they could find. It was the first meal with all the students back from winter holiday, so naturally it seemed a lot more hectic when it was practically just Frankie and Ethan.

"Frankie! How was your break?" a voice coming from across the table asked her. She hadn't noticed when she had sat down, but Quin was sitting at the other side of the table.

"It was nothing special, really. I just stayed here with Ethan and Rodger." she replied. Frankie wouldn't dare to explain how she explained it to everyone else. She was starting to censor the amount of Tom in her stories when she was talking to Quin, knowing the outcome of even a mention of his name. He was about to answer her when the rest of the girls interrupted him. The girls were positioning themselves in the seats surrounding them, poised on conversation.

"Quin! Join our plans of revenge!" Bina exclaimed, as she slid up next to him.

"It all depends. Who are we revenging against?" he asked her, clearly intrigued by her offer already.

"The first year Slytherins."

"Then, count me in."

"Come on, Quin. Don't you even want to hear why?" Frankie tried reasoning. Although, reason never worked on guys like Quin or Rodger, or girls like Bina. Once they were set on something, no power in the verse' could change their minds about it.

"Don't need a reason to get back at those Slytherins. Whatever it is, I'm on board!" Quin replied. It was an expected hot-headed answer, but she still didn't like it. When he said that, she knew which one he was talking to directly… Frankie tried to get away from all the Quidditch talk and Slytherin hate and walk back to the dorm. It was all starting to make her brain hurt. However, they finished eating and ended up catching up to her. They all chatted on about the game all the way up to the seventh floor.

"What are you brats going on about?" Rodger Day inquired to the group, coming up the stairs from supper as well. They all explained that they were going to be going against the Slytherins in a first year Quidditch match and, by the time they all stepped in the dorm; he looked like he was unable to breathe from holding in hysterical laughing. "First years playing Quidditch? What? You're joking, right."

"We have challenged the first year Slytherins to a match to take revenge." Dylan continued to explain. Someone must've forgotten to explain that part, because instantly he had replaced his confused look with a grin like Quin and Bina had on hearing this detail.

"Weird way of revenge, but I think I can roll with it."

"Quin can be are Keeper. Aidan and Ethan will be Beaters. Bina, Katy, and I will be Chasers."

"What about a Seeker?"

"Frankie here will be here will be our Seeker." Dylan reported, patting Frankie on the head like she was a little five year old.

"There's no way I can play Seeker! We'll lose for sure if I do." Frankie responded, in a panic. They just couldn't lose. Tom and her friendship had been put at stake. Tom would definitely not adhere to the new decree. He didn't like being told what to do and was bound to put up some sort of a fight against it. Tom would become an outcast again, just like he was in the orphanage. She was going to ruin his chance of finding friends and a place at school.

"Relax Frankie, its one game. I'm sure you'll do fine!" Rodger laughed, rustling her hair. Her hair was starting to look like a Quaffle itself and just got worst if she tried to escape, so she just sat there and accepted inevitability. Everyone was starting to walk up to their dorms, as it was nearing lights out when Quin suddenly turned to Frankie and stopped her. He pulled a book off the end table by the couch that read _Quidditch Through the Ages_ and handed it to her.

"Here. If you're nervous about the match this might help, somewhat."

"Thank you, Quin." Frankie smiled, accepting the book in her arms. It was a rather unexpected thing for him to do for her. The two waved goodbye and headed up to their dorms. Frankie tried to read the book a little bit before lights out, but it was no use. For the first time, her head was too jumbled to focus on reading. She shut it a few minutes later and retreated under the covers. She would need her sleep anyway.

Tomorrow training started.


	18. Quidditch Blood

The first year Gryffindors and Slytherins spent most of their free time for the next five months practicing. Rodger, as captain of the Gryffindor house team, let Frankie and the others train alongside them for the time being. The team seemed to want to support their blood feud, so they didn't mind it much. They even were kind enough to give them a few tips and techniques, while the coach helped them with their general flying. Most of them already had at least some experience already. Quin and Aidan were fine, of course. They had been flying on brooms since the age of one and have wanted to be professional Quidditch players since they were six. The only ones who hadn't had any experience flying were Frankie and Katy, since they had both grown up in the muggle world. Katy was learning quickly and Frankie was…

Well, let's just say, she just needed a little more practice.

"Relax, Frankie. You've been doing fine." Sarah stated, as she sat down onto her bed. It was after practice and the rest had gone off to supper, except her and Frankie, who both didn't really feel like eating tonight.

"That's easy for you to say, Little Miss Commentator!" Frankie groaned, sitting down next to her. Sarah had gotten out of playing because she was going to be the commentator and score keeper for the match. "I don't see why we even need a commentator. It's not like anyone's going to be there to watch."

"You never know. I hear word travels around fast in this place." Sarah smiled, lying down on her pillow.

"Why do we even have to do this at all? They didn't do anything wrong." Frankie argued, with a frustrated pout. It had been her argument every single day and, at this point, was just a futile statement. No matter what she said, no one would listen to her.

"This isn't just about those girls anymore. It's about Gryffindor pride!" Bina shouted, popping up from out of nowhere. Frankie jumped off the bed in surprise and rolled onto the floor, while Sarah remained undisturbed by their sudden appearance. The rest of the girls had finally joined them from supper and were now sifting in for the usual homework and chatting. "All those Slytherins act like they own the place and talk down on us for being different. They think their superior to everybody else just because they're purebloods!"

"What does being purebloods have to do with them acting cocky?"

"I can answer that," Dylan stated, raising her hand from her bed on the other side of the room. They all hopped from Sarah's bed, over Katy's and Frankie's, and settled onto Dylan's. The four girls all piled onto her bed to hear what she had to say. "It all began with the four founders of Hogwarts. Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. They ruled the school in peace and were rather good friends, at first. However, Slytherin began to revolt against the others, after a heated disagreement in the types of students admitted to the school. Salazar wanted to admit only pureblood students at Hogwarts, but of course the other founders objected to it. So, he left the school and didn't come back."

"That's why they're all purebloods."

"They think that their house is all great because there isn't any muggle blood mucking it up," Bina added. "There hasn't been a witch or wizard in Slytherin who hasn't gone bad before."

"Oh, Bina, you're exaggerating. I'm sure there are some who aren't so bad." Dylan laughed, nervously. She looked over at Frankie to gauge her reaction, slightly praying she hadn't heard, but she unfortunately had already taken in what Bina had said.

Did that mean Tom was going to turn into a dark wizard?

Frankie had read books about dark wizards, after that book she read with Flourish and Blotts she became so intrigued by them. They were horrible villains who had no sanity and done terrible things to both of the worlds. If that was the destiny of all Slytherins, was that what Tom was going to become? Some power-hungry, mad man whose bloodshed would give him the front page on every newspaper, magical and muggle. That couldn't be his fate. He was different. Sure there were still times he was sort of unkind to her, but it wasn't very often. When she first met Tom, she just thought his cruelty was a result of years of loneliness and neglect. Does he try to cover it up when he's with her?

He was just hiding his true nature. Tom hadn't actually changed somewhat at all. He was still that brooding, angry boy she met three years ago. Frankie could not get all the pounding questions out of her head. She just didn't understand. Eventually, she returned back onto her own bed and just stared down at her locket.

Meanwhile, Tom was curled into a fetal position on top of his own bed, desperately trying to shove out the annoying voices of his roommates, while they all chatted insensately on the other side of the room. It was getting to the point where he wanted to grate his ears off with a cheese grater.

"It is going to be an easy win." Malfoy remarked, with yet another grating laugh. They were talking about that stupid Quidditch game again. Tom found it ridiculous, like most things they did, that they agreed to be even on the Slytherin team. They didn't even know what they were fighting for. Leri had mentioned taking the Gryffindors down a peg and they all jumped aboard the revenge ship. What a bunch of idiots…

"Of course, it will be. Their Seeker is a _girl_. We'll win, even though Vogel is our Seeker." Lestrange laughed, pointing his thumb back at him. Peter gave him a tart look and huffily walked back to his own bed, obviously insulted.

"You mean that cutie brunette they have?" Malfoy inquired. It was amazing that at this point in the year they still hadn’t bothered to learn any of the Gryffindor’s names. However, Tom instantly knew they were talking about Frankie.

"Positively disgusting, Malfoy. You can't possibly find that Gryffindor girl attractive."

"She just sparks my interest. I'm not saying I actually have feelings for her," Malfoy replied, with a slight mischievous air. Tom tried his best to stay quiet, being the one with actual feelings for the girl. He should’ve been grateful to not have more competition, but he still didn’t like what Malfoy was saying. "She just seems like she’d be a fun little toy to play with."

"You might have to find a new toy to play with. I think that one already has an owner." Lestrange grunted. Tom flinched. Even though Tom hadn't really been keeping their friendship all that secret, there was no way he could be talking about him. As far as they were concerned, he and Frankie shared nothing more than a few words in classes together.

"Who?"

"The guy playing that’s supposed to be playing Keeper for the Gryffindors. I think his names Quib, or something stupid like that."

"Well, after we win, I'll be her new owner. They have to do whatever we say when we win, right?"

"Are you two idiots going to shut up anytime soon?" Tom shouted, in a rather stentorian voice for a twelve-year-old boy. He couldn't use his magic to make them hurt, like he used to at the orphanage, unlike the muggles these two could actually fight back. So, it was all he could think of to stop them from talking about her like that, like she was some kind of transferable item.

The two immediately shut up. Lestrange and Avery rushed to their own perspective beds. Even though they didn't know him, they knew better than to cross someone who looked as furious as Tom did. His glare was homicidal. He didn't know why they actually listened to him, but at least they were quiet now. He had instigated bed time and no one said a word for the rest of the night. Finally, he could sleep, pretending they didn't exist and he was in the room alone.

Frankie woke up early the next morning to head down to Ogg's cabin for a visit before she had Quidditch practice. Usually, she had gotten into the habit of going there a lot and helping him with various jobs around the school. However, more recently she was busy in training, so she hadn't had the time. She arrived at the cabin, knocked on the door, and the door swung open immediately.

"Ah hello, Frankie. Nice to see you!" Ogg's cheery face greeted her. He always had so much energy in the morning, unlike her. Frankie could already see the fire blazing inside the small fireplace and smell of breakfast wafting out.

"Good Morning, Ogg." she yawned, drowsily rubbing her drooping eyes.

"I just boiled some water. Would you like some tea?"

"Yes, that would be lovely."

She walked inside the only one roomed cabin. It's small, but livable. In the corner was a massive bed with a patchwork quilt over it and was a handcrafted wooden table in the center fit for four. You'd probably have a little more room if you didn't have dead animal meats, pelts, and then dozens of bottles of different insecticides along every inch of it. However, Frankie was able to look past that easily. It was warm from the fireplace where, most of the time, a kettle was boiling some water for hot chocolate or tea whenever you wished.

"What have you been up to? I haven't seen you around recently." Ogg stated, pouring her a cup of tea once it was brewed. Frankie began to tell him all about her Quidditch problems. She was into books not sports for a reason. No one can just flip a switch and suddenly be good at something. It took somewhat of a skill that either you were born with or not.

"Quidditch is a great game! I played it when I was at school here. I might even have an old photo of the team here somewhere…"

"It is an amazing game. I'm just terrible at sports, though." she sighed. He wasn't listening. Ogg had started to rummage throughout a trunk at the foot of his bed. "Oh, Ogg, what are you looking for?"

"Ah, here it is!" he exclaimed, holding up an old, dusty photo. He handed it to her and she got a better look. The photo has seven men wearing Gryffindor uniforms standing on the Quidditch field. Frankie's gaze was fixed on one man in particular. He was standing dead center with a captain's badge pinned on his uniform. The man looked to be about sixteen and had thick, blondish-brown locks that were threatening to fall into his field of vision. He pushed them back, then continued to smile and wave at her. He made her want to wave back, yet he also made her want to cry.

A long time ago, she had known him too.

"Ogg, who's that man?"

"Oh, that's Francis! We were good friends growing up." Ogg responded. He proud when he had said it, however, there was a rather pained look on his face. "Why do you ask?"

"That's my father." Frankie answered, sounding rather assure, despite not being able to remember much of him. There was a long silent pause where all that could be heard was the crackle of the fire behind them.

"I see so you really are Francis and Elizabeth's daughter," Ogg mumbled, finally. He probably had already suspected it before, yet decided not to say anything about it. The subject was surely raw for both of them, but there wasn't any escaping it now. "I thought you looked like them."

"Did you know them both well?"

"I'd say pretty well. We were all childhood friends." Ogg answered, pouring more tea into his cup.

"What were they like?" Frankie asked, taking a giant swig of her own tea. It was strange, but for once she wanted to know about her parents. She had never met someone who had actually really known them before. What were they like? She was curious about them.

"Your dad was very confident man and a great Quidditch Keeper. He got hundreds of offers from various teams when we graduated. However, he always aspired to be an Auror. He wasn't the smartest man, but he managed to win the Triwizard Tournament in our seventh year at school." Ogg explained.

"Really? My dad won the Triwizard Tournament!?" she exclaimed, sounding surprised. Frankie had read a book about the Triwizard Tournament. It was supposed to be a very dangerous contest that schools from all around the world contend in just to die. There is only ever one winner. And apparently at one time that was her father.

"He even took your mum to the Yule Ball. It was their first real date."

"So, what do you know about my mum?"

"She was a very odd woman, your mum. She was always saying strange things and making up creatures, but she was incredibly clever and smart. She got picked on by the Slytherins a lot and it was always up to me and your dad to stick up for her,” Ogg described, cracking a small smile. Frankie could see him replaying all the memories in his mind; she only wished she could see them too. She tried to imagine the boys from the picture standing up for a girl, who looked like her, but the faces soon became blurred and hollow. She still didn't know who they were. "I'm sure your father would be very proud to know you're playing Quidditch, even if it's just for a game."

"What about my mum? Did she ever play?"

"Your mum could barely stay on a broom. I remember during Flying class your mum couldn't go two feet off the ground and when she did she zoomed around uncontrollably." Ogg laughed, pounding his fist on the table consumed with hysterics. Frankie could tell it was one hell of a memory.

"That's probably where I get my abilities then."

"Don't worry. I'm sure you've got some of your father's blood in you somewhere."

"I'll try my best, then." Frankie smiled. She finished her second cup of tea and checked the time. She still had time till practice started. "Got any jobs for me to do today?"

"Not today, I suppose you can just go back to the castle." he replied, as he got up to clean out his teapot and the cups.

"I think I'll just go off to practice on my own for a while. Bye Ogg." Frankie stated, getting up out of the small wooden chair. Ogg waved her goodbye as she headed out the door and back out onto the field. She ran to the Quidditch field and began to practice various exercises Rodger usually had them do. She was doing a lot better after the talk she had with Ogg. Perhaps, it was from visualizing her father playing. She didn’t know him, and never would know him, but she could see the boy in the photo playing. Even though they were in different positions on the team, she could see him riding the wind and knew she wanted to catch up with him.

Quidditch practice went well for Frankie, for once. Rodger even seemed to be somewhat impressed by her sudden change in attitude and dedication. They even had her go up against Aiden with a few small Snitch sized balls they found in the supplies shed. Three out of five times she caught them before he did. After practice, the first year players joined up with their housemates/spectators, Sarah, Paul and Elric, to go back to the common room together before supper. However, Frankie was so tired from practicing that she ended up falling asleep at the base of the tree by the lake after it was all over. Before anyone could question where she’d gone, though, she was thankfully found,

_"You shouldn't fall asleep in weird places."_

She screamed and jumped back in shock, several minutes later, not expected to be awoken by someone. Tom was staring down at her like she was crazy, with the nothing-of-interest book tucked under arm, "I'm sorry, I just dozed off."

"What are you doing out here?"

"I was just taking a small rest after practice." Frankie answered, letting out a drowsy yawn.

"I bet if I hadn't found you, you would have stayed out here all night." Tom stated, with a bit of a smug grin.

"I would have come around."

"Sure,” he scoffed, in disbelief, “Just, how much practicing did you do, anyway? You’re obviously more tired than usual."

"It was only a few hours. I'm just more tired because I woke up early to go talk to Ogg. He told me about my parents…" she explained. Tom looked a little surprised and silently urged her to continue. Frankie continued to tell him all that Ogg had told her about them.

"It sounds like he knew your parents well."

"Yes, he's lucky to have all those good memories with them."

"I know you didn't really care for them all too much when you were younger, but surely you must have had some good memories of them." he added.

"A few good ones, perhaps, but not like Ogg's. He really knew them." Frankie replied, with a small grimace. A part of her longed to have the memories, everything that could've been and never was, but it was impossible. "They have always seemed like such strangers to me, but I suppose it's just my faulty memory. I can't even remember what happened the day they died."

"Maybe it's for the best that you can't remember," Tom reasoned. He had no idea how her parents had perished, but he had the feeling it was something _horrifying_. Her mind had been trying so hard to keep her from remembering whatever it was that happened to them for a reason. "It might be something you don't want to know."


	19. A First Year War

The day of the Quidditch game finally arrived on a warm spring, almost-summer, afternoon in the beginning of June. Unfortunately, to Frankie's dismay and praying to a certain rain god, Bina had picked the perfect day to have a Quidditch match. She had also thought no one would come, but of course the word had traveled like Sarah had said it would. Now, most of the houses were split between the two sides. Tom wasn't sure which side to sit on when he arrived, since he really didn't support any of this. Eventually, he just ended up sitting with Sarah in the commentators' seats. Most of their fellow first years were in attendance, coming to watch their peers in battle. In addition to, the regular house Quidditch teams and a decent amount of upper years who wanted to bet money and see a good show, they even had an official referee. The new flying instructor, Madame Silverheart, was new to the school this year after the last instructor retired. Rose Silverheart was youngest out of all the teachers, somewhere in early twenties, and was the first girl captain of a Quidditch team at Hogwarts. With her willowing hair and amber eyes, she didn’t look like much of a threat, but it was rumored she was faster than lightning and never had lost a game during her time at school. They had asked her to referee their match and she agreed immediately, looking very excited that they all wanted to get into Quidditch.

"I don't see why Madam Silverheart agreed to let us to do this." Frankie complained to Quin as the two sat on the sidelines getting the last of their gear on. It was a little late to be complaining about Silverheart's decision now, as the match was about to start, but she couldn't help it. The hopeless feeling and impending failure was overtaking her.

"She seemed to think it was a great idea. Hopefully, this will change people's minds about first years not being able to join the house teams." Quin answered.

"I don't think so. That rule has been around for centuries," she laughed, cracking a small smile. "Besides, you'll get to try out next year, which is nearly there already. It doesn't really matter anymore."

"Of course it matters, Frankie. It'll matter to all the kids who come after us, the first years next year. Getting the chance to tryout will matter to them."

"I didn't know you were so passionate about this stuff."

"I may not be book smart like you, but if there's one thing I know it's Quidditch."

"You sound like my dad…"Frankie sighed. Now, she really didn't know her father, but it sounded like something he would say from what Ogg had told her. "He would have probably loved having a son like you, rather than a daughter like me."

"Don't be so down on yourself! I'm sure your father would have been proud of you. He was an amazing player and you are too." Quin argued. He sounded serious, which was another first she'd seen out of Quin since she had known him. "It's in your blood. So, just do your best. Okay?"

"Okay."

She flashed him her brightest smile as the two got up to finally head out. Quin was right. Frankie couldn't just give up on this match before it had even started. She had worked hard for this and she had to win, if not for her friendship with Tom, then for her dad. He would've wanted her to give it her all. She was certain of that.

It was finally time to start the match. The crowd cheered as the two teams got into position on the pitch. Frankie was soon face-to-face with the Slytherin Seeker and suddenly her smile faltered a smidge. It was Peter Vogel. He was the only other Slytherin boy that had ever spoken to her and was nice enough to warn her about Leri and the other girl's intentions. She didn't know he was in this. He gave her a small grimace that told her that he really didn't have much of a choice.

The Slytherin team looked pretty intimidating. But even so, she was not going to lose. Madam Hooch blew her whistle and threw the Quaffle higher into the air. Sabina caught it and passed it to Katy and he zoomed off towards Avery and the goal. Leri collided with her and snatched the Quaffle back. She raced off towards the goal and shot it passed Quin.

Ten points to zero.

Frankie just flew around watching her friends getting foul played by the Slytherins, as the Seeker she couldn't really intervene in anything. It was soon sixty-thirty, with Gryffindor losing handsomely. All she could do was look for the Snitch, but she hadn't seen it so far. Was it just too fast for her to see? She was slowly losing her confidence again…

"Oi, Frankie! Bludger!"

She hung off her broom like a sloth to a branch and the Bludger zoomed past. Once she returned back up the Bludger was knocked back at her by Lestrange and she was forced to duck again. Suddenly, Aidan flew in and batted the Bludger away. The two laughed, while he called out to Madam Silverheart for a foul. However, she let it pass.

"That should not have been legal!" Tom shouted, getting to his feet with outrage. He momentarily forgot that he wasn't supposed to be caring about the dumb sport. However, he soon remembered and sat back down again. Thankfully, the crowd was not so focused on him that he was able to go back to "reading" without notice.

Everyone, except Sarah.

"Oh, those Slytherins are playing dirty! Got anything else to say about this, Tom?" she reported, looking over at him expectantly. Tom gazed up from his book for a second. She was pointing her wand at him planning to amplify his answer like she had been doing for her commentating, but then he turned away.

"It appears my co-commentator is giving me the silent treatment. I suppose the only Gryffindor he likes talking to is—"

Tom put his hand over her mouth to silence her, without lifting his head from his book.

" _Finish that sentence and you'll be waking up next week in the hospital wing_ _."_

They sat there in awkward silence. Sarah was trying to process what had just happened, with a slightly dumbfounded expression, before she got back to commentating again.

"Look! Frankie Dickson seems to have found the Snitch!"

Peter heard Sarah say this and jetted off after Frankie immediately. The Snitch was flying low to the ground. He tried pushing her into the stands, but she wouldn't budge. Peter reached out his hand trying to grab the Snitch. Frankie sped up and jumped from her broom into the air. She tumbled to the ground and everyone flew down after her. She stood in the middle of the field, somewhat unharmed. She held the tiny golden ball in her hand watching the gold fluttering wings slow down.

"Frankie Dickson's caught the Snitch. GRYFFINDOR WINS!" Sarah shouted, jumping out of her seat with excitement. She had even pulled Tom up with her and he stood unenthusiastically beside her as she jumped up and down. Tom was about to tell her not to touch him, but instead just let her have the moment. He sighed, thankfully the Gryffindors had won and he and Frankie could remain in peace. So, for the moment, he would let Sarah be excited in his place.

"You were fantastic."

"Absolutely brilliant!"

"I knew you could do it, Frankie." Quin smiled, giving her a pat on the back

"Take that Slytherin!" Bina shouted, pointing at the Slytherin team. They all glowered back at her and started to walk away defeated, except Malfoy. He smiled and walked towards Frankie and the rest of the Gryffindors.

"Congratulations, my little doll. It would seem you are more interesting then I first though." Malfoy smiled, kissing the back of Frankie's free hand.

"Um, I don't believe we've had the pleasure of ever speaking." Frankie stated, swiping her hand out of his. She knew Malfoy from her classes, but this was the first time he had ever really acknowledged her existence.

"I'm Abraxas Malfoy, but you probably already knew that. It's a pleasure to meet you officially, my dear." he replied, seeming not to hear her comment.

"Come on, Malfoy!"

"I've got to go, now. So long, Frankie. We’ll meet again." Malfoy stated, as he turned to walk away. He strutted confidentially towards Lestrange as if he actually had accomplished something significant. Frankie stood there confused, until she remembered about the other person this deal had affected and turned to face the commentators' seat. Tom was still standing there after Sarah had gone down to the pitch to celebrate with them. She smiled and waved to him, holding the Snitch in the air like a victory trophy. He waved back at her with a somewhat relieved expression.

They were all in the Great Hall when Tom came back up to the castle, Frankie and the Snitch in the center of it all. The Gryffindors would spend the rest of the day celebrating their victory. Tom couldn't even get near her because of the crowd of people surrounding her. A first year girl winning a Quidditch game, it was an extraordinary spectacle. Woman had not even been allowed to play Quidditch up until the 1920's. There was no possible way of getting to see her, so Tom just headed back down to his dorm. He entered the room unnoticed by the defeated bunch that was his roommates.

"She got lucky, that's it." Lestrange grumbled, with crossed his arms and a very sore, sour expression.

"It was more than just luck, Lestrange. I hear her father was a Quidditch prodigy when he was here. It's in her blood." Malfoy reasoned.

"I don't care what's in her blood, her blood is what's wrong with her," Lestrange snapped, angrily. "It might be pure, but she's still just a stupid Gryffindor."

"So, you admit she would if she wasn't a Gryffindor you would fancy her too?"

"Are you serious? I still wouldn't ever fancy a girl like her."

"Well, until you grow up, I'm going for her," Malfoy smirked, tossing his long blonde hair over his shoulder. "As long as she isn't some filthy Mudblood, she's alright with me."

Tom couldn't take them talking about Frankie as if she was some sort of object to be won yet again, however, he couldn't intervene without them becoming suspicious of him. Despite their stupidity, Tom still planned to have those idiots be his "friends" no matter what. He had done some research recently in the library and it turns out all his dorm mates were from extremely old, wealthy families that had produced many powerful bureaucrats in their time. It would be good for him to have that kind of power on his side for the future.

They didn't even know Frankie knew him and Tom intended to keep it that way.

"So, Tom, what was with that girl who was commentating?" Lestrange asked Tom, suddenly. He wasn't actually expecting them to speak to him, especially not about that. They should've been busy playing, not paying attention to what Sarah was saying.

"I don't know what you mean."

"That strange girl commentating said that you only liked talking to one Gryffindor."

"I don't even know that girl."

"Yeah, but she said—"

"All Gryffindor are worthless scum!" Tom hissed, angrily. He didn't know where that had come from. It had just sort of come out all of a sudden. "Why would I ever be associating with any of them?"

"Finally, someone who agrees with me! Unlike, Malfoy. He actually wants to date one of them. Gross!"

"She's cute. Tom knows she is. He sits next to her in Potions." Malfoy turning back to Tom for backup on this statement.

"That girl is the worst out of all those Gryffindors. She annoys me just being in my presence. She's definitely not 'cute'." Tom fumed. They all agreed, except Malfoy. However, the only person Tom felt had been stung by his words was himself. He didn't know what had come over him again. To talk that way about that girl,

"You call yourself a Slytherin. I for one would never have interest in a girl like her."

Even she would never forgive him.

"See? Riddle gets it." Lestrange added, smugly. Avery nodded in agreement and Malfoy did as well, but only since popular opinion was against him. They all hung around Tom the rest of the night, as if they had been best friends all year. He didn't feel like it was a much of a friendship yet, though. It was more like he was the leader and they agreed with whatever he said.

Tom had to sneak out extra early for their Sunday walk, so that they would not catch him with her after what he said the night before. Frankie arrived to meet him at the normal time in front of the Great Hall, with the Snitch she’d caught fluttering gracefully beside her.

"You couldn't have left that thing behind?" Tom sighed, pointing at the little golden ball.

"I can't get rid of it. The thing has got a mind of its own." Frankie replied, grabbing it out of the air and stowing it in her pocket. Madam Silverheart tried to take it back, but it wouldn't leave her captor’s side, so Frankie allowed her to keep it for the time being. They began to walk down to the normal spot and Frankie told Tom about the match from a player's perspective. Of course, Tom didn't really watch most of it, so it was pretty much all new to him. A couple minutes later the Snitch was out again fluttering around them as the two reached the tree.

"I'm sorry. Is it bothering you?" Frankie inquired, trying to stuff it back into her skirt pocket.

"Just a bit."

"I’m sorry."

"It can't be helped…" Tom sighed, sitting down at the base of the tree. "I’ve read that Snitches have flesh memories. They remember the touch of the first person who handled them in case of a disputed capture."

"There's something else bothering you other than the Snitch, isn't there?" Frankie asked.

"No, there isn't." he lied. However, not very convincingly for once. He was looking down at the grass, adverting from her gaze. Even though it had gained him instant popularity and friendship with the boys in his year, he still felt guilty about what he had said about her the last night.

"You can't lie to me, Tom. I can always tell when something's bothering you." Frankie stated.

"How?" Tom asked.

"I don't really know. I just can." she replied, like it was something that was easy to her. It shouldn't have been easy. Tom had been a skilled liar ever since he knew what a lie was. His straight emotionless face was the perfect mask, yet for some reason she could see right through it. "Isn't it the same way with you? Can't you tell when something is bothering me?"

"Well, yes, but your too easy to read. You always show your true emotions." Tom reasoned.

"I do not!" Frankie argued. Yet a half-smile told him she was not truly angry with him, which proved his point even more. Suddenly, disrupting their little world, they saw a figure running towards them down the path. Tom tensed up, thinking he’d been caught as a fake already. However, as the figure grew nearer, Frankie recognized the person to be Minerva McGonagall.

"Good morning, Minerva." Frankie smiled, waving at her as she ran up to them.

"Good morning. I don't mean to interrupt, but the Gamekeeper said he needs you right away."

"Ogg needs me? I bet those Flobberworms got into the garden again! Will you excuse me a second, Tom?" Frankie sighed. He nodded and watched the two run off in the direction of the small cabin where the gamekeeper lived. Tom returned to the nothing-of-interest book, when he heard a voice behind him.

" _I for one would never have interest in a girl like her."_

"Have you been following me, Malfoy?" Tom replied to the disembodied voice, without looking up to address him. Internally he had a microscopic drop of panic. How long had he been there? How much had he seen?

"I was only walking over here to see my little Gryffindor. It's not my fault you just happened to be with her," Malfoy explained, as if his actions had been completely justified. "Don't worry I won't tell the others. However, I am going to take her from you."

"You cannot take something I do not own," Tom stated. He was holding back glaring at him because he knew that was exactly what he wanted Tom to do. He would not let Malfoy get the best of him, nor would he dare let him actually take away Frankie. Tom had to counter attack in the snidest, sarcastic way that would piss Malfoy off instead. He grinned a maniacal sort of grin, adding,

"The best of luck in your endeavors, Malfoy."

before he casually walked away.


	20. Summer Time

After the exciting first year Quidditch game came and went, it was time for the dreaded final exams. Most of the Gryffindor and Slytherin first years, as well as probably the entire first year class, were positively scrambled. Except, unlike the two other houses, Slytherin and Gryffindor had all spent so much time practicing for their game over the months they hadn't gotten in any studying at all. Frankie had done a bit, considering she hadn't gotten too much into practicing until nearly the game, but she was still in desperate need of some help. Thankfully, Tom agreed to help her study, which he took much pleasure in because he got many chances to tell her that she was an idiot. Frankie ended up getting incredibly high marks, thanks to Tom's help and despite her apparent idiocy. She and Tom got the highest scores in their year, in fact. Thankfully, there were no catastrophe level failures, even Quin did decently well on the Potions exam.

They all had made it through year one okay and it was finally time to go back home, or at least in most people’s cases.

"This darn thing won't close!" Frankie complained, sitting on her trunk to try to close it. It was the day before they were all getting ready to go on summer vacation and she was doing some very, very last minute packing. It didn't seem like she had anything at the beginning of the year. However, when her friends found out she was living in an orphanage, they were kind enough to give her some of their older clothes.

"Let us help you with that." Dylan replied, gesturing Bina to follow along. Bina groaned and reluctantly got off Dylan's bed to help as well. The two girls sat on top of the trunk, while Frankie bent down and started snapping the latches shut.

"Thank you, girls."

"No problem."

They both got up off the trunk. Frankie double checked her area of the room, from under her bed to the inside of her drawers. Tomorrow, she and Tom would be back at Wool's Orphanage, eagerly waiting to return back to Hogwarts again. Although, she was all packed, she wasn't really all that ready to leave.

Sarah and Katy came into the room chatting about their summer plans. They were both planning to travel around the magical sites of Britain. Katy's parents were muggles and knew practically nothing of the world their daughter was now a part of and Sarah's mother had always wanted to go, as a muggle she was incredibly fascinated with the wizarding world. Her father had kept it a secret, till Sarah started exhibiting signs of magic, in fear that she would be repulsed by him. However, she ended up loving them both even more and embracing the magical world with captivation.

"Frankie, I just went to donate my Transfiguration textbook to Professor Dumbledore and he told me he that he would like to see you before you leave."

"Really? I'll go now then."

Frankie exited the common room and walked down a few sets of stairs, until she eventually reached Dumbledore's office all the way down on the first floor. She knocked twice and waited for the okay before she opened the door. He answered from within and she entered. It was the first time she’d been in Dumbledore's office. It was a small little room full of trinkets and doodads of trivial things plastered all over the walls. In one view, Frankie saw a spyglass and a tooth brush and in another she saw a unicorn horn and sexton. There was but one moving portrait in the middle of all the chaos. A portrait of a young sunny haired girl, who was smiling a hollow sort of smile down upon all who entered.

"You wanted to see—"

She stopped when she saw Tom already sitting in one of the two chairs in front of Dumbledore's desk. He looked at her with no hint of surprise, like he had known already who the other chair was for, but instead gave her a look that yelled, _"You're late!"_

"Yes, come in," Dumbledore ordered. Frankie walked completely into the office and shut the door behind her. She sat in the seat besides Tom and he looked back to Dumbledore. "Now, how was your first year at Hogwarts?"

"It was amazing." they both answered. Frankie sounding more happy and excited then Tom had, but he ultimately felt the same despite not being able to properly express it. These past months at school had been the greatest months of his life, compared to the living hell that the orphanage was.

"Excellent, and how do you think your studies went? Looking at your exam results I'd say you two have learned a lot over the school year. Both of you were at the top of the class. There has definitely been a major growth in your abilities since you both came here," said Dumbledore, looking at some parchment on his desk that presumably held their records. "This brings me to the reason I brought you both here."

Frankie and Tom both looked a little confused, having absolutely no idea what the reason could be. He made it sound like they were in trouble and he was about to give them a very stern lecture.

"See, being raised in the muggle world and having no parents to tell you about our magic, the two of you have always been able to use your magic when you please. However, now that you have your wands and have learned how better control over your magic, you’re no longer allowed to use magic whilst away from school. Do you two understand me?" he explained. Frankie looked slightly shocked, while Tom painfully struggled to remain emotionless. They had no choice but to nod quietly in agreement, after a long silent pause. "Good, you may leave now. I look forward to seeing you both in the new school year."

They left Dumbledore's office without another word. Frankie only managed to speak up and make a comment about the new rule when they were halfway down the corridor to the main stairs.

"It's too bad we can't use magic at the orphanage anymore."

"Too bad? It's going to be a bloody nightmare having to live without magic for three whole months." Tom snapped, back at her. He hated Wool's Orphanage more than anything in the world, by this point that shouldn't have been much of a secret. Tom didn't know how he would survive the whole summer in that awful place without magic. Frankie's expression dampened even more and there was an even longer pause as the two arrived at the stairs. This was the point where Tom would turn to go to the dungeons, but her glum expression bothered him and made him feel a slight guilty. He couldn’t just leave her, "I apologize for snapping at you. I'll walk you back to your dorm now..."

"Thanks." Frankie smiled, and the two began walking up the stairs together. She could feel that he didn't want to talk about the no magic rule anymore, so she made sure didn't bring it up again, as they ascended the marble stairs. They soon arrived on the seventh floor at the portrait of the Fat Lady, both in surprisingly better moods.

"Miss Dickson, I've said it before and I'll say it again," the Fat Lady sighed. Tom mentally braced himself for the mad rant she was about to go in and struggled to not literally put his fingers in his ears, "you need to stop bringing that boy up here all the time. He's a Slytherin. He's not supposed to know where our dorms are. You're putting us all in jeopardy of an attack! "

"Oh, it's just Tom. It's not like he's going to tell anyone. Gurdyroots!" Frankie answered, simply. The Fat Lady had no choice but to fly open and reveal the entrance to Gryffindor common room. "I'll meet you before we get on the train tomorrow."

Tom nodded and then watched her disappear into the portrait hole. He turned to walk back, trying to ignore the glaring Fat Lady behind him. His mind was still fixed on that accursed rule Dumbledore had given them as he headed down to the dungeons. It wasn't fair, but at least he would still get to spend summer with Frankie. She would ease the nightmare a little.

The next morning it was time for everyone to do one last room check and hop on the train home. There was a generally happy air as the students made their way to the platform, especially the seventh years, who were now graduated yet were acting like sugar-high five year olds. Tom had grabbed his trunk and headed out with the rest of the Slytherin first years, with the boys yet again sticking to him and asking him trivial questions. He did his best to give them short, non-informative answers and then allowed himself to be slipped away into the crowd. Thankfully, Tom found Frankie waiting by the platform sign, off to the side of the mass of people flooding into the train. The two jumped back into the crowd and took the Hogwarts Express back to London. After one long train ride, they found themselves standing once again on platform 9 ¾.

"Ready?"

"I'm ready." Tom answered her, unintentionally gripping his cart tighter. Frankie was the first to run at the pillar, for some reason having no doubts that she'd end up safely on the other side instead of plowing into the wall. However, Tom seemed to hesitate again. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes and charged at it. When he re-opened his eyes both he and Frankie stood in front of the stone pillar between platform's 9 and 10. They were surrounded by normally dressed people, who were trying not to stare, even the same guard was yelling at another kid across the way.

It was almost as if the whole thing had never happened.

Hogwarts felt even more like just an impossible dream as summer continued on. They only had their textbooks and wands to convince them otherwise. Since the two were forced to spend their summer at Wool's Orphanage and were not allowed to use their magic, the incidents stopped happening. All the kids started talking to them a lot more than before. Well, mostly just talking to Frankie. After years of constant torture, they weren't quite ready to trust Tom yet. He still had a glare like the devil. However, like usual, he didn't care what they thought of him.

Tom and Frankie would usually sit outside at a small white table in the garden reading their wizarding books, blocking out the world of muggles and horrible life in an orphanage. It was more unbearable after being given a taste of a grander life they could be living. Often trying to be closer to their those lives, without using magic, they would sneak out on Sundays and go on walks around the city. Frankie even showed Tom the spot where her old house was. The house was run-down and broken now, the bottom of the two-story house was about to crumble any day. However, they still walked by there often, just to see it while it was still there.

"Do you want to go in?" Tom would always ask her. He knew a small part of her wanted to go inside and try to remember what had gone so wrong, what exactly happened to her parents. However, Frankie could not ever bring herself to enter. Probably in the fear that she would not like the truth, as Tom suspected. He didn’t blame her for it, though.

"No…" she always answered back, with a small grimace.

Summer continued into mid-July and it was soon time for Wool's Orphanage's annual summer trip. Mrs. Cole's late husband had owned a house on the countryside, in the town of Cotswold. Every year they were able to go there and get a small vacation from the hard life of an orphan.

"Come on, Tom. We're leaving soon!" Frankie called, knocking on his door. It was the morning they were leaving and they were the only two that were not downstairs yet.

"Alright, just go on without me. I'll be out in a minute." Tom sighed. He was not usually one to be late but he stayed up late the night before, once again reading his Potions textbook, and overslept. It's not like being on time really mattered to him, though. They could've left him behind and he wouldn't have cared. Tom never really cared for the trip, feeling there was no such thing as getting a vacation from being an orphan. However, at least the air there was clean and there was lots of space between him and the rest of them. At the very least it was a little taste of freedom from the constant oppression. He finally left his room about five minutes from when Frankie had told him it was time to go, only to find her waiting on the wall right outside his door. "Idiot…"

She just smiled at him that classic smile of hers and Tom sighed, caving at the sweetness, "Come on, let's go already." The two walked downstairs to find all the other kids waiting in the foyer, chatting words of excitement, while Mrs. Cole was glaring up the stairs at Tom and Frankie.

"You two are late!"

"We're sorry, Mrs. Cole." Frankie apologized, honestly.

"Speak for yourself…" Tom muttered, being even more honest, and speaking just loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Urgh! You two…" Mrs. Cole shrieked, even though it was Tom who had said it. Frankie and Tom joined the other kids quickly, before they could anger her any further and they all left the orphanage for King's Cross Station. They were catching a train to the country on platform 12. Of course, when they arrived Frankie and Tom got the sweeping feeling they had just been there and yet, at the same time, it felt like it had all been so long ago. The two couldn't help but stare at the pillar between 9 and 10 as they passed by. Tom even touched it as if his hand would just go through and they'd be able to catch the Hogwarts Express back to school that very second. However, the wall was just a wall this time. They boarded at platform 12 and all the kids spread throughout the train. Frankie and Tom found an empty compartment near the back and claimed it for themselves. The train soon departed and they began trying to find things to pass the time with. Tom had soon reluctantly once again settled on the nothing-of-interest book, his textbooks being too large to have taken with him, while Frankie was staring out the window at the passing scenery.

Around ten minutes into the train ride, there was a knock on the door of their compartment. Frankie looked up to see Amy Benson trying to get their attention. Or at least her attention. Tom was too enveloped in the nothing-of-interest book he didn't even notice Amy's signs. However, it was doubtable that they were even meant for him. She was telling Frankie to get up and come out into the corridor. She did as she was told and slipped out of the compartment to meet her. Amy gestured Frankie to follow and they began walking down the corridor. They had become better acquaintances since summer had begun, but ultimately Amy still called Frankie a freak behind her back and kept her distance.

"I've been meaning to ask you a question about Tom." Amy stated, suddenly after making some idle small talk about the trip.

"Really? Why? I didn't think you wanted anything to do with him."

"Believe me, I don't. I've known him since we were four and he's just a monster. On this trip particularly…" Amy argued, but then shuddered thinking of a painful memory. Amy Benson and Dennis Bishop were two that had always had legitimate reasons for their fear and hatred of Tom, ever since that country trip when they were seven. It was before Frankie’s time at the orphanage, but she still wondered about what the younger Tom had done to terrorize them so much. Even he wouldn’t tell her. Tom had merely smiled at the memory when she had brought it up. "However, I might not even have to worry about it. Ever since you two came back from that school he has been acting strangely different."

"You really think so?" Frankie inquired, curiously. He didn't seem all that different to her. It must have just been the new 'no magic' rule. He kept more to himself now, if that was even possible, since without his powers he could not torment the other orphans anymore.

"Absolutely! Did something happen to him while you were both away at school?"

"Oh no, school was pretty normal. We just had a nice break from being orphans and made new some friends. Other than that, it wasn't anything too special." Frankie reported. She couldn't exactly tell Amy anything that happened at school without her thinking that she was crazy. Thankfully, Amy didn't pry on about it and changed the subject again. After a while, she got bored of Frankie and walked her back to her and Tom's compartment. Tom glared at Amy when she returned Frankie, like she had borrowed something of his without asking. Amy wasn't afraid of the glare and returned it with one of her own that screamed 'deal with it'. Then, he mouthed something at her, a certain word or a phrase, and her expression faltered. Amy ran back down the train as quickly as possible.

They arrived promptly at two o'clock to a scene straight out of a scenic postcard. The town was so small it could all be seen in the distance and there was only one main road going into it. Mrs. Cole started to lead the orphans to the farmhouse, starting to take advantage of the country already. The road was made of dirt and could barely fit a car, if anyone around here had one, they didn't need to worry about the busy London streets. It wasn't a long walk to the house. It pretty much took you only five minutes to get anywhere in town, it was that small. The old farmhouse was a large, wooden, two story house with chipping pale blue paint. It was a bit nicer then the orphanage, but a lot smaller. Tom took one look at the house and turned around.

"Let's go…" he sighed, taking up Frankie's arm and pulling her along. Tom figured now that they had been dragged there, they might as well make the most of it…

"Frankie!"

Amy had called out into the long grassy field, a few minutes later. Everyone had gotten somewhat settled and they were now given free time to roam the grounds. She wanted Frankie to sit on the little beach by the ocean with her and the rest of the girls, talk about boys and other girlish gossip. She probably met loads of cute boys at boarding school she could talk about. Surely, Frankie drew weary of always hanging out with that sadistic sad sack. However, she should’ve figured that he had already whisked her away.

She and Tom had already run off to a spot they had discovered together a few summers ago on Frankie's first trip to the country. It was a spot deep into the woods, where no other orphan would dare to go. One might've been able to make it to the creek, if they were lucky, but no one else had the guts to make it across. The creek didn't usually have much water. It looked more like a trench with a small stream running through it. However, it was deep enough to bury Frankie at least, after it rained. There used to be a rope swing long before their time, but it had eventually torn loose somewhere as time stormed on. All that remained was the frayed end swinging in the summer breeze, whether someone was on it or not when it broke, that was up to speculation and deduction. Tom liked to believe someone had foolishly fallen to their death and drowned, trying to swing the other side. He even liked seeing if he could spot bones on a shallow day. The only way across was a fallen tree, now. The trunk was still just as dangerous, with only a slight less risk of falling, yet Frankie was able to race across it not even hesitating. The view on the other side was worth the danger. The trees cleared to illustrate a large abandoned greenhouse, standing tall amongst them. A couple of panels of the glass roof shattered, letting nature have at it. They walked inside to a jungle of colors to greet them.

"I've been thinking that this place is magic. It's kind of like the ones at school." Frankie remarked, as she took up the small stone bench near the back.

"It's obviously somewhat magical, the plants haven't died and it's been a year since we've been here." Tom answered, as he grabbed the watering pail on the table. The plants had most likely been getting at least some water from the holes in the roof, however, they were still probably fairly thirsty from the hot summer sun _._ He headed to the seemingly bottomless fountain on the far wall and began filling the pail.

Tom actually for a short time wanted to be a horticulturist. Plants were always way more interesting than people, to him. They had cooler names, all kinds of properties within them, and they didn't judge and hurt like people did. It all seemed like a quiet and interesting field of study. However, now that he was on track to becoming an extraordinary wizard, being a horticulturist sounded rather dull now. He'd have to do something better.

"Perhaps, someone else has been here watering them." Frankie added, picking up another pail. She went to the fountain as well and the two began watering the plants together.

"I seriously doubt any wizards live in this area and it's probably under a similar enchantment like Hogwarts is to muggles." Tom replied. He figured that a long time ago it was greenhouse to some witch or wizard, possibly even from Ravenclaw house. Something had happen and they left the greenhouse to ruin. Also, there was something carved into the mossy trunk of the bridge that raised some flags: _"Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure."-Rowena Ravenclaw_

"We will be going back to Hogwarts soon, wont we?" Frankie asked. She sounded like she wasn't too sure that they were going back.

"Of course, we're going to go back!" he answered, like she was stupid for even insinuating they were not going to go back. Although, Tom too had his doubts at times. He knew Frankie's friends would have definitely sent her letters by this point and she hadn't gotten any all summer. Her friends surrounded her at school, so much so it usually proved bothersome to him. Why wouldn't they be writing her? They also had yet to receive their second year supply lists and Dumbledore had made no attempts to contact them either. "I'm not staying at the orphanage all year, that's for sure."

"I know, but sometimes it feels like we won't ever go back. The wait is endless." she sighed. The two continued to water the plants and chat on. Frankie talked about her friends, mostly. Tom didn't really understand why though. She should be furious at them. They hadn't bothered to write all summer, tell her how they were doing. Some friends they were turning out to be…

He didn't really have any friends to counter her stories, so he'd always try and change the subject.

"I really want to learn how to produce a Patronus. They don't even teach it at school, but I read a book in the library about them. It's supposed to be a really complicated spell." Frankie remarked, as Tom brought up the subject of Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"I believe I came across the term a while back but, remind me, what exactly does it do again?"

"It repels these dark creatures in the wizarding world called Dementors. I know I'll probably never come across any Dementors in my life, but I would like to see what animal would come out of my Patronus."

"An animal?"

"Yes. There are two types of Patronus, corporal and non-corporal. Corporal type manifests itself into the form of an animal that best represents your soul, like a spirt animal," she explained. "I wonder what mine would be..."

There was a long silent pause and Frankie went back to watering. Tom tilted his head, distracted and appearing to be thinking on something.

"A rabbit."

"What?" Frankie replied, forgetting what they had been talking about before the silence had ensued.

"Your Patronus would be a rabbit. I'm sure of it." he repeated. Frankie had always given him the image of a rabbit. She was witty and perceptive, but also shy and vulnerable at times. A rabbit seemed very her to him.

"I suppose your right. A rabbit does suit me." she laughed, giving him a warmhearted smile. Although, he would not further explain his decision to her, she knew that he had obviously done the idea some extra thought. Tom stared at her smile for the moment it lasted. It was probably what he loved most about her, considering he did not have the ability to smile without it being wicked and taut. So, every time she smiled he let it soothe him a bit. He’d needed it after the painful conversation of not going back to Hogwarts, "It's getting dark. We should get back before Mrs. Cole blows a gasket."

Tom and Frankie got back to the farmhouse only five minutes later then everyone's curfew, yet still got a very harsh scolding by Mrs. Cole. The woods were technically 'off limits', so the two were sent to bed without supper. Tom was used to not eating, so it didn't bother him too much. However, he got slightly worried about Frankie. He'd have to steal something for her later.

Tom ended up just falling asleep, despite his plans, and woke up to a brand new day. The bright sunlight awoke a headache as well, but he ignored it and got ready to go back to the greenhouse. He went downstairs a few minutes later to hear Mrs. Cole talking to someone in the hallway.

"I'm keeping a close eye on two today. No more sneaking off into the woods!"

She was obviously talking to Frankie, no other orphan had the guts to even step a foot into those woods. Tom went right into the middle of their conversation, grabbed her and made a break for it.

"Tom, we have to go back! Mrs. Cole said we weren't allowed out today." Frankie protested, trying to stop Tom's fast pace.

"Who cares what she says. We'll go wherever we want to," Tom thundered, angrily continuing to drag Frankie along. "She’s just a muggle. She can't control us."

"Oh, Tom. That's not a nice thing to say."

"She's trying to starve us to death."

"No, she's not. It was only a supper and breakfast," she insisted. Tom stopped at the edge of the woods, seeing he'd have to convince her otherwise if he wanted to get her to follow him in there. "Honestly, I'm fine."

"I can tell you're hungry." Tom stated, looking straight into her eyes. "Honestly, who do you think you’re trying to fool?"

"I'm telling you that I'm not." Frankie claimed, staring right back at his. They were having an intensely serious stare-off for several moments, when her stomach made an extremely loud growl. She blushed feverously and tried to get it to be quiet.

"I told you." Tom added, breaking his gaze with a smug sort of grin. "We'll get something at the festival tonight. There's sure to be plenty of food. Hang in there a little longer..."

They arrived at the greenhouse, despite all the Mrs. Cole's warnings and Frankie's struggle to follow those warnings. The two went inside to see which plants needed more watering and trim some of the overgrown ones.

"Maybe we should fix that rope swing. For next summer and the summers after that." Frankie suggested, gazing out in the direction of the creek, while she clipped some of the vines that were growing onto the glass.

"Besides the fact I don't want to see you die, what's the point? Once we're out of this orphanage, we're never going to come back here." Tom argued, as he opened another desk drawer looking for a pair of clippers to help her. He found them and joined her in trimming. Then, he was suddenly hit with the realization of how much longer they still had to go until they got that freedom. Five more years, “I can’t stand it much longer… I want to get out now.”

"I know you don't like it at the orphanage, but we just have to wait..." Frankie replied. Tom abruptly stopped his clipping and slowly started to back away from her. How dare she say it? The unfortunate truth of the situation. Did she not want to get out sooner? How could she just sit idly by and wait to be free of the orphanage? But then again, she could barely understand. He had been there all twelve years of his life, while Frankie had only been there a few years. She didn't really know the real feeling of being trapped.

"I hate it so much. You don’t understand..." Tom mumbled, angrily. Knowing himself, he'd start yelling at her next, unless he made a run for it. A part of him wanted to yell at her, to let her know exactly how long he had been waiting and how much he couldn't stand it anymore. However, the other part of him decided on taking off before he could hurt her and lose the only thing he had that meant something to him. Tom found himself running along the edge of the creek and stopping right at the very edge. Perhaps, he should become those bones he always searched for on a dry sunny day. Tom looked behind him and of course she had come running after him. Her hair was blowing wildly around as she desperately tried to get to him before he acted upon his thoughts. He let out a huge, heavy sigh and stepped away from the edge.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…" Tom stammered, suddenly feeling weak. Frankie had finally caught up. She stopped in front of him and grabbed onto his shoulder. She was out-of-breath and couldn't speak quite yet, but when she looked up at him she had this look in her eye that assured him that she understood. They looked across the creek to see a deer trying to cross the tree trunk. The deer stared at them for a while, taking in their appearance and movements to see if they were friends or foes. Tom took one glare at it and it hastily ran back the way it came.

"It may sound weird, but sometimes I wish I was like that deer. I want the endurance to run much, much farther than this."

"You shouldn't run away from things," Frankie replied, sitting on the grass and hanging her feet over the edge of the trench. Tom felt stupid for mentioning it, yet still sat down beside her. "However, I agree sometimes life is just too much to deal with."

"Someday we can both be deer and we'll run out of that wretched place together. And when that day comes—"he stopped himself. He almost said something he shouldn't have. However, Frankie didn't notice. She just kept smiling at him like always.

"I'm looking forward to that day."

Suddenly, a flicker of light shone at them from the creak. It looked like there was something shiny wedged between some rocks. Tom carefully slid down to go investigate and Frankie followed. He waded in the water and moved the rocks to retrieve whatever it was. He pulled out a silver rusting skeleton key from the rocks and they looked it over.

"What's this?"

"It looks like a key."

"I got that much, Sherlock. What I meant to say is what's here for? There aren't any locks around here." Tom responded, as he examined it. A light bulb seemed to go off in Frankie's head as he said this. She grabbed Tom's arm and they climbed back out of the trench. For once he didn't question what she was thinking by this point in their friendship he knew that all would be revealed in time. They raced back to the greenhouse and she stopped at the desk inside. Tom got her motive now, quickly opened the first drawer and removed the bottom. It was fake. They had discovered that on pretty much the first exploration of the greenhouse. The first drawer had a false bottom with a lock underneath it. He tried the key and it opened with a click. Removing that layer there laid the object the drawer had been trying so hard to conceal. It was an old journal covered in strange symbols and stuffed with extra pages. Tom flipped it open to the first page,

_"Over my final year, I have dedicated these pages uncovering a secret hidden deep within the castle. Enclosed is my findings and research to cracking that secret. Unfortunately, my suspicions have been confirmed, I'm being watched. I must hide this book before He finds it. Remember, there is absolutely no one you can trust..."_

"Could they referring to Hogwarts?" Frankie asked, reading the passage from over his shoulder.

"It sounds like it. However, Hogwarts has plenty of secrets, though. This person was probably just a paranoid kook." Tom answered, shutting the weird journal. Although, he might decide to give it a read later. Who knows, it could turn out to be an interesting book.

What seemed like minutes were really hours. It always seemed like that when they ran off. Time was going so fast, yet it ultimately still felt so slow. They headed straight into the town for the festival, so they could avoid the foreseeable punishment from Mrs. Cole for at least a few more hours. The town was strung with dazzling lights and little flags. Chalk drawings filled the cobble street except for center square where the people of the town were already dancing in the golden warm lit night.

"Do you want to dance?" Frankie asked, as they arrived in the square of dancers.

"No, then I'll have to dance with everyone…" Tom answered. The way the dance was working you shifted partners every two or three minutes. If Tom wanted to dance with her, which he “didn’t” want to, he'd be forced to dance with a dozen more girls.

"Please Tom. It'll be fun." she begged. However, he shook his head and she left with a grimace. It didn't take her long to find another dance partner to join in with her, though. A boy with lemon blonde hair asked her to dance mere seconds later and she accepted. Tom watched from the sidelines as her and lemon boy joined the rest of the circle. Then, she began shifting through partners, old to young, with a happy smile.

"You're going to let her dance with all them," a voice to his right remarked suddenly. Tom jumped out of his obviously jealous glare to find Amy Benson had sauntered up beside him. "Dance with me."

"Why would I? And more importantly, why would you? I've been threatening you since we were six, Amy." Tom argued. Her ponytail must have been tied to tight, if she was actually suggesting that they dance together. There was certainly no love lost between him and Amy, they had been in a state of utter loathing each other since the day they met.

"Just do it. I promise it won't be the worst thing in the world," Amy reasoned. "And you'll get to dance with Frankie eventually."

Tom let out a reluctant sigh and extended his arm. She accepted it and they joined the others. It wasn't as dreadful as he thought. The other girls from the orphanage would give him looks of pure terror upon finding out that he was their next partner; while the older woman from town would give him a cute giggle when they found that they were taller than him. Of course, he was mindlessly drowning them all out, until the shifts ended. Then, came the final shift change and Frankie was spun to him. It was more like dancing this time around, rather than semi-spinning around in circles. She was probably the worst dancer out of all the other girls, he had to restrain from yelling when she stepped on his feet. However, despite the fact he felt somewhat angry; he felt somewhat happy as well. He didn't feel any happiness dancing with anyone else.

With that last dance, the festival soon drew to an end and even Tom concluded that it wasn't such a bad time, certainly better than in years past. They all started shuffling back home, dreary eyed and tired. Thankfully, there had been booze at that festival and they evaded punishment from Mrs. Cole for now. Sleeping was easier tonight, with full bellies and happy attitudes, everyone fell asleep without issue.

Although, not everyone stayed that way.

Frankie suddenly awoke in the dead of the night. She looked up to find a small boy in her room. At first she thought it was one of the orphanage boys, come to play a horrible prank on her like putting her hand in water so she might wet the bed. However, he didn't look like any boy she had ever seen before. The boy looked like a silvery ghost and she couldn't quite see his face. However, out of all the traits she could not place a finger on, she could recognize his voice. It was a voice she knew from long ago, yet it felt like she had just heard it recently.

_You have to go now…_

Although, it was a disturbing statement, Frankie followed the boy out of the farmhouse and through the woods. For some reason she knew that he meant her no harm and had no fear following him into the woods. They stopped at a clearing in the woods where the greenhouse was supposed to be. However, there in the mist was a vast glossy lake, much like the Black Lake.

"Why am I here? Why have you brought me here?" she asked the boy, despite there probably being way more important questions she needed to be asking. He did not answer, but merely pointed out towards the lake to a shining light.

Tom woke up like any other morning, possibly in a somewhat better mood the usual. He didn't know what it was, but he wasn't tired or angry this morning. He got dressed and was going downstairs to get breakfast, when he found Mrs. Cole was talking to herself by the stairs. He leaned on the rails for a listen into the conversation she and herself were having.

"Those brats snuck off again." Mrs. Cole hissed, not noticing Tom orientated on the staircases glaring at her.

"Who?" Tom asked, even though it was obvious she talking about them.

"Oh, there you are. Would you tell Frankie to come down too, if she actually wants to eat this morning?" Mrs. Cole replied. Tom sighed and began walking back up the stairs to get her.

"Are you up yet?" he asked, knocking on the door. He kept knocking and knocking, but no one was answering. What on earth could she be doing? She couldn't possibly still be sleeping through all of this noise he was making. "You're late for breakfast, idiot."

Tom finally decided on just opening the door, only to find that the room was empty. Where could she have gone? Mrs. Cole definitely would've seen her come downstairs, if she was down there. He ran back downstairs, did a quick scan of the first floor and then ran out the door. It couldn't be she was missing. Where could she possibly have disappeared too? He ran through the woods and across the fallen tree to the clearing. Frankie was lying on the ground in her nightgown. Hopefully, just sleeping.

"Frankie!" Tom yelled, bending down to see if she was all right. She suddenly sprung up and was wildly looking around the area with desperate, hysterical eyes.

" _Please don't leave me all alone! I swear I'll be a good girl, Daddy!"_

"What are you talking about? Frankie!" Tom questioned, searching for who she could be talking to. It obviously wasn't him. However, it couldn't be her father either.

"Tom…where are we?" Frankie asked him, sounding very muddled and confused. She got up and stared around at her surroundings. There was once again the greenhouse, rather than a grand lake, and the little boy she had followed was gone. Her head throbbed and she collapsed back down on the grass. What had happened to her? She remembered walking along the water and grabbing the ball of light. Once she grabbed it, she had seen a sword. She couldn't remember anything after that. Frankie felt a singe of pain in her head and shriveled up in Tom's arms.

_Just forget…_


	21. We're Third Years Now?

" _Slow down, idiot!_ _"_

Tom was pushing through the crowd of people at King's Cross Station, yelling at the top of his lungs. They all stared at him wondering who the boy was shouting at, wondering if he was shouting at them. But he gave none of them any attention. He was too busy chasing after someone. They had now been to King's Cross enough times to walk through without fear or anxiety of missing their destination. However, regardless of that fact, Frankie was wheeling her cart full speed through the station. She was letting nothing stop her from getting to platform 9 ¾, not even the usual guard blowing his whistle at her or Tom's demands for her to slow down. She only stopped when she was a few feet in front of the barrier to let Tom manage to catch up with her. He put his hand on her shoulder, to make sure she didn't go tearing through the barrier without him as well.

"We –have –time. We're not going to miss it. Slow—down." Tom wheezed, a tad out-of-breath from the sudden exercise she had made him endure.

"I'm sorry, Tom." Frankie apologized, looking back over her shoulder at him. For some odd reason, she felt the need to go very fast, like she really would miss the train if she didn’t hurry up. "I couldn't help it. I'm too excited to slow down. We're finally in our third year at Hogwarts now!"

"It's not really that different from second year, you know."

"Is it really though? To tell you the truth I can't remember much of last year." She looked like she was pondering on it, like she _really_ couldn't remember. But then again she had always had memory problems it was only fitting she couldn't remember most of the previous year. Also, when you had as many friends like the Gryffindors, time just seemed to fade away with fun and laughter.

"Neither can I…"Tom answered, thinking on it as well. It was strange. Unlike Frankie, his memory was flawless. Tom wasn't one to simply forget an entire year of his life and it wasn't like they did so much that the whole year was hard to remember. He just couldn't remember the exact details. It was like it was blurred in his memories or was just such a highly uneventful year there was nothing really worth remembering about it. "It must be the effect of spending all summer in that wretched hellhole."

"Oh, never mind all that. Are you ready?"

"I guess..."

He snapped out of his thoughts of last year and focused on the pillar. This was the part that made him worry and for some reason he still was letting Frankie go before him. She ran full speed towards the pillar and jumped through with as much grace as a prima ballerina. Despite Tom's worry, she was basically a pro at this point. She had absolutely no trouble running full speed toward the stone pillar. Tom gripped his cart tighter and went into a sprint. He shut his eyes and surely enough when he opened them he had ended up on platform 9 ¾ once again. He searched around to find Frankie standing a few feet away talking to one of the familiar long-haired blondes out of the three in their year.

And unfortunately it wasn't the only one of the three that Tom actually liked.

"I didn't expect to see you here, my little doll." Abraxas Malfoy exclaimed, despite the fact that it was pretty obvious Frankie would be at platform 9 ¾ on the first day of September.

"Good morning, Abraxas. It's nice to see you too." Frankie smiled. She appeared to be acting polite and normal. However, Tom could practically see her scrunch up with discomfort. He knew Frankie wouldn't react positively to Malfoy's brash forwardness. That was why he had not gotten worried when Malfoy had first told him he was going after her.

"How about you sit next to me on the train for once?" Malfoy added, putting his arm around her shoulder.

"I'm afraid I have to decline. I've already promised to sit next to Tom." Frankie replied, even though they had promised nothing of the sort.

"I see he already beat me to it. But I still won't give—"

Finally, after shoving families and children from his way, Tom arrived at the scene to smack Malfoy atop of his pale blonde head. This idiot just wouldn't give up. Malfoy howled in pain and released Frankie immediately. She looked immensely relieved to see him.

"You're spouting nonsense again as per usual," he stated, as he casually walked over next to Frankie. Tom grabbed her and started pulling her towards the train as Malfoy clenched his head in agony. "Come along, clever girl. Let's get on the train before we catch its stupidity."

"Okay." she agreed, seeming to ignore Tom's comments to Malfoy. It was probably because he had called her a clever girl. She liked when he occasionally called her that; it was a lot better than the usual 'idiot'. The two walk toward the nearest train car door, leaving Malfoy on the platform. They opened an empty compartment and began sitting down before Frankie finally decided to say something about it, "You didn't show him any mercy."

"He didn't deserve any." Tom stated, flatly. He gazed over at Frankie, who was looking out at Malfoy, still standing where they left him, rubbing his sore head. Before she could even feel a singe of guilt, Tom lowered the blinds right in front of her face.

The two sat in silence as the train blew its whistle and prepared to set off. Usually they would be talking by now, but Frankie sat looking at the blinds with a bitter expression. Tom sighed and re-opened the blinds, knowing it was probably what was causing her silence and he was sure Malfoy was gone now. It had worked, as soon as the summer sun flooded in her mood seemed to instantly be lifted. For once she even came and sat beside him and talked for a while, before her inevitable slumber. Perhaps it was because people made better pillows then cold glass windows. He got out the nothing-of-interest book, turned to a page he had mentally saved and began reading with the slumbering girl on his shoulder. It wasn't completely awful, even though he was slightly unable to breath in fear of waking her up. He also began to drift away with her warmth a bit, till he remembered he was the one who needed to remind her to change into her uniform. Another heavy sigh and he shook her awake. It only took her a few seconds to realize what this wakeup call had meant before she sprang into action.

"Are you going to keep repeating the pattern of not changing before you leave?" Tom inquired, trying to keep reading while keeping his other arm extended out. He was acting as a coat rack of sorts as she fished out different articles of clothing from her pack and started flinging the ones she needed onto his arm.

"It's embarrassing to walk around the station in wizard robes."

"You shouldn't care what the muggles think. They don't matter."

Frankie hurried down the corridor without another word, seeming to once again ignore another one of his cruel comments. She ran all the way to the other side of the train to the restroom and changed as quickly as possible. A few minutes later, she was running back down the corridor to the compartment when she saw something blocking the way. It must have been the Candy Lady. It was a young woman with long silvery hair and a sweet, cheery complexion who was backing up a trolley full of candy. She noticed Frankie standing behind her and smiled kindly.

"Anything from the trolley, sweetie?"

"What happened to the other woman?" Frankie inquired, although she didn't really have a real clear image of the Candy Lady. She missed her the first and second year. But people said it was some old woman, not a pretty young thing in her early 20's.

"My gran finally kicked the bucket. My name is Ariella Sweet and I'm the Candy Lady now."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"It's alright. My life was pretty much waiting for her to die. I graduated like 3 years ago and—"

"3 years ago? Do you know Garrick Ollivander then?" Frankie asked. She remembered when she and Tom had first met him that he had just graduated. Frankie and Tom had actually been visiting him every time they'd gone to Diagon Alley. Tom quite reluctantly, considering he still thought Ollivander was a lunatic. Ollivander often would often tell them stories of his school days, after Frankie gave him a recap of her and Tom's year.

"Of course, he was one of my closest friends along with Diana and Alastor, do you know them as well?" Ariella asked, curiously.

"No, just Mr. Ollivander. He made my wand." Frankie replied. He did however mention those two names, Ariella too. They must have all been pretty close.

"Did he now? I haven't seen his work yet, may I see it?" she asked, holding out her hand. Frankie retrieved her wand from her pocket and handed it to her. Ariella started to examine it from every angle. "Such fine craftsmanship. Garrick always did want to take after his father. I'm happy for him."

"I'm Frankie Dickson, by the way." Frankie added, realizing she had yet to introduce herself.

"Funny, that's Diana's last name," Ariella stated, sounding not at all like she was laughing though. Then, she looked Frankie up and down with her pale lavender colored eyes, like she was another wand to be examined. "You kind of remind me of her a bit too."

"Well, it's not a very uncommon last name."

"I suppose your right. I probably just miss her lot and am seeing her in you. I'm so sorry."

"Do you really get that out of touch with your friends once you leave Hogwarts?" Frankie inquired. It was hard to imagine that one day that could be her with her friends. She would barely talk to Quin or Dylan, or even quite possibly, Tom. It was still too early to start thinking about the end, when they had more than four more years left together.

"Only if you allow yourself to grow apart from them, I guess. You all grow busy, get different jobs and other lives, and you can't go back to that place that once glued you all together..." Ariella sighed. She sounded quite glum, but quickly had to get over it when she saw a group of students on the other side of her cart. "Whoops, a mob has formed while I've been blathering. If you're going to order something, better do it quickly before they all kill you."

"I'll have—"

"She'll have a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, on me."

The voice had spoken from behind Frankie. She turned to look who had appeared behind her, but he just gave her a good view of his chest as he squeezed past her to give the Candy Lady the rest of the compartment's order. It took Frankie a couple of seconds to recognize the boy who had just ordered her candy for her. He looked a little different, his hair a little lighter from all the sun. Perhaps, he had even gotten a little taller over the summer. However, the scrunched up sleeves and matching hazel eyes were unmistakable.

"Quin! You don't have to do this, you know."

"It's become like a tradition. Honestly, I don't mind." he responded, paying the Candy Lady and taking an armful candy of candy from her. The Candy Lady began to service the many glaring students at the front of the cart, as Quin handed Frankie the bag of beans. She immediately opened the bag, popped one in her mouth and made a face as if she was about to vomit. However, despite the desperate urge to spit it out on the ground, she swallowed the bean.

"If were making this a traditional thing can we pick a different candy." Frankie groaned, weakly. She had the worst flavor in her mouth but she did not dare check the bag to see what it was.

"Nope it has to be these. It was like our first year and last year, I think." Quin answered, turning to go back to the compartment and leave her. Then he stopped, with a confused sort of expression on his face. "Did I give you Bertie Bott's last year?"

"You must have." she replied, sounding unsure. Frankie couldn't remember last year's train ride very clearly, but it sounded like Quin. She had run to change and by some thread of chance she met him and the candy waiting for her in the corridor.

"Oh well, come on into our compartment. Everyone's been wondering where you were!"

"Really?" Frankie exclaimed, running up beside him. Sure enough, when they got to the compartment, there sat the rest of the third year Gryffindors all squished inside. Aidan, Ethan, Dylan and Bina were all chatting about what classes they were going to take this term, while Paul and Elric were talking about some new type of broom that had just come out, and Sarah and Katy were trying to reach a bag on the shelf above. The chaotic compartment stopped immediately when they saw Frankie and Quin standing in the doorway.

"Frankie!"

"Hello, everyone. It’s great to see you all" Frankie smiled, waving at them sheepishly.

"Where have you been?" Sarah asked, grabbing the bag she was looking for and sitting back into her chair.

"Oh, I was just sitting in a different compartment, that's all." Frankie answered.

"Come and join our compartment then." Quin beamed, as he started to distribute the candy. They all nodded in agreement that she should stay with them.

"Oh, I'd really like to, but I really should be getting back before—"she stopped herself, unable to finish her sentence. Frankie knew that the Gryffindor girls would understand, they knew about Tom and her, but the boys were a different story. Quin and Tom absolutely hated each other. She didn’t know exactly why but it had been that way since day one. Aidan and Ethan had never gotten into a specific encounter with Tom. However, being Quin's best friends, they’ll always take his side no matter what. Frankie felt horrible for having to keep most of her friendship with Tom a secret, but it was the only thing she could do at the moment to stop the hate from spreading any further.

"It's alright. The train ride is basically over anyway. You should just go back to your compartment before we stop." Dylan insisted, giving Frankie a knowing look. She seemed to be the only one who knew what she was struggling to say. Frankie nodded, waved goodbye, and ran back down the corridor. She'd have to remember to thank Dylan later.

Frankie was nearly back in her and Tom’s compartment when, suddenly, the train halted to a stop. A few feet away she saw the Slytherin boys of her year exiting the compartment that was obviously hers. She recognized Peter waving at her and attempted to wave back and be friendly. Unfortunately, Malfoy was right behind him and thought Frankie was waving at him instead. He gave her a mischievous wink back and she quickly ran back into the compartment, slamming the door shut behind her. Frankie was checking out into the corridor through the door’s window curtains, to make sure he was gone, when she heard a small throat clearing cough from in front of her. Tom stood inches away, both of their bags in hand, having an equally confused and annoyed look about him.

"Is there something wrong?” he inquired, looking at her oddly shielding the door and keeping them in.

“It’s nothing. Let's go!” she replied, starting to hastily grab her things from his hand. "What did those fellows come in for anyway?"

“I was just chatting with my friends, while you were gone. Isn’t that why you were taking so long?” Tom answered, figuring she got caught by the Gryffindors on her way back. He paused a moment before pushing past her and opening the compartment door, realizing something. That was odd. When did he start referring to them all as friends? They weren't really his friends and yet he didn't treat them the same as he did first year.

The two got off the train and began to walk over to the carriages. The crowd was heavy, so they could easily walk with each other without suspicion. Suddenly, despite the mass of people in her way, Dylan came up right beside them and grabbed Frankie's arm.

"You don't mind if I take her from you, do you, Tom? You got to keep her all summer." Dylan smiled at him. Tom looked at her for a second, but then smiled a semi-fake sort of smile back.

"Go ahead." Tom replied, as he turned to walk away. Although, normally, something like this would’ve usually angered him, it didn’t. Dylan was the only other Gryffindor that didn't completely get under his skin. He didn't know exactly why, though. It was probably because she treated Frankie so well and wasn't completely incompetent. She was protecting him in his place while they were separated by houses. So, he in return had granted her an unusually polite manner. The two joined the other third year Gryffindors as an empty, self-pulling carriage pulled up. Everyone else hopped aboard, except Frankie. She was at the front of the carriage.

"Hello there." she smiled, petting the invisible creature at the front. What no one could see was that she was actually petting the snout of a Thestral. Frankie had started taking the carriages' last year and at first didn't know what they were. No one else seemed to see them. Then, Ogg explained them to her. Ogg told her that they were creatures called Thestrals and that they could only be seen by people who had seen death.

"Come on, Frankie! What are you doing over there?" Quin yelled at her, from the carriage.

"I'm sorry. I'll be right there." Frankie yelled back. She got into the carriage and they headed off to the castle. Typical, he couldn't see them. She must have looked pretty silly. However, she couldn't help but reach out to them. Frankie loved magical creatures, no matter how different they were. These ones also seemed very lonely. She'd have to ask Ogg if there was anything she could do to help them. It wouldn't be any use asking Professor Kettleburn, even though she finally had the Care of Magical Creatures class this year. A few minutes later, they could start to see the shimmering castle in the distance as the carriage grew nearer. Frankie could feel her heart start racing as she set her eyes upon it.

Finally, she was back home.


	22. Go With Me to Hogsmeade

Ever since October started the third year students were buzzing with excitement about going on their very first trip to the village of Hogsmeade. They had technically already been there before on the station platform they arrived on. However, the station for the Hogwarts Express was situated near the Black Lake, and from there a road outspreads around the lake to the school. It's actually quite a distance from the town itself, being on the opposite side of Hogwarts grounds, yet technically still part of Hogsmeade. It was a quiet village, full of little cottages and a variety of shops that was just a mile or two down the road from the castle as well. It was all promising to be the start of fun trips they could look forward to for years to come and this was finally the year for the class of 45'.

_"Will you go with me?"_

"I'm afraid I'll have to decline."

Magnus Warren, a Hufflepuff boy in the third year, walked away in defeat from Dylan and Frankie, sulking off to who knows where. However, Dylan just continued walking towards the Great Hall, like she hadn't just crushed a boy's spirit to pieces. She wasn't acting as much as her normal self this morning. She had more of Tom's normal attitude, while Tom's attitude was more irritable then normal from getting the exact same question asked to him. He sat at Slytherin table looking utterly exhausted from having to give the same cold, but polite, answer so many times.

"Dylan, that's was the third boy this morning." Frankie exclaimed, as they were sitting down at Gryffindor table. First, it had been Mason Gaines, who had actually been waiting on the stairs by the Fat Lady for Dylan to come out. Then, right after his fellow Ravenclaw struck out, Antonius Radford stepped in. It was becoming a bit extensive.

"You think that's bad you clearly haven't seen Bina today." Dylan sighed, taking up the seat beside her. “I bet all those fifth year guys are feeling pretty embarrassed right about now…”

"Why are they doing this anyway? What’s going on?"

"It's because it’s the first trip to Hogsmeade."

"Really? Why would you need to ask someone? We're all going down anyway."

"They're just using the occasion to try to start something. It's best to just ignore them, until they get serious." Dylan added, taking a sip of water. Frankie was not quite sure what she had meant, but thought it best just to keep eating and leave her friend alone for the moment. The last thing Dylan needed was to answer her clueless questions. She needed candy and fun, which were two things that would be promised in Hogsmeade. Once they all finished eating, the group of students who were going to the village met by the main entrance.

"Remember you are representatives of the school…" Professor Merrythought went on and on. Usually, Merrythought was not a terribly strict professor. However, being put in charge of a bunch of teenagers when they were not in her classroom naturally set her a little on edge. Finally, once she finished her long lecture, she and the group set off for Hogsmeade. They walked in a pack down the road, until they arrived at the village a few minutes later. The crowd immediately dispersed, most of them off to Zonko's Joke Shop or Honeydukes, trying to get things before it got too crowded. Tom stood in the middle of the road, not knowing where exactly to go. It was not like he really wanted to be there. He had only come along because Frankie was getting her slip signed and Mrs. Cole thought she needed to sign his slip as well. He really had no reason to go, but…

"Tom!" The crowd had dimmed leaving Frankie standing in the exact same position as him. Tom was a bit surprised her friends didn't try dragging her off with them wherever they were headed. However, he found it all the better for him. That means she was his, for now.

"Do you want to go to Honey—?"

Suddenly, Rodger Day came swooping in from nowhere, picking Frankie up with him and hoisting her over his shoulder. Now, in his seventh year, she still looked like a first year compared to him. He got taller, if you could believe it, and was probably well over six feet now. He was beaming at her with his different color eyes, seemingly ignoring Tom’s presence.

"Fancying Hogsmeade so far, Squirt?" Rodger inquired, even though it had only been minutes since they all arrived.

"Put me down!" Frankie ordered him, yet she made no attempts of a struggle. She knew it was useless to try. The only way she was getting out was if he released her on his own.

"What's the magic word?"

" _Please_ release me, Day." She sounded a fake saccharine of sweetness that of course he did not buy in the slightest.

"Wrong. The magic word was ‘Cauldron Cakes’." Rodger laughed. Now, she tried struggling, punching him in his chest and kicking his back. It wasn't all that effective though.

"Let her go." Tom stated, firmly. Rodger finally noticed his presence glaring him down, even though he was feet below him.

"Why if it isn't Mr. Slytherin, again, with my Squirt. Alright, I see what's going on here." He set her down on the pavement beside Tom, like he hadn't just hoisted her over his shoulder like a sack of flour, and turned to go back from where he came from. "I've got a date of my own to go on anyway. I'll see you two later, then."

They watched as he walked out of sight and only when he was long gone did Tom turn to address Frankie, "You should stop letting that guy pick you up."

"He just came out of nowhere. I didn't just let it happen." Frankie argued, in excuse. Although, Tom thought she could've easily got herself down if she had really wanted to. "You don't need to worry about Rodger. He’s not going to actually hurt me."

"Pain wasn't what I was worried about…"Tom sighed. He didn't know what to make of Rodger Day's relationship with Frankie after these past few years. Sometimes he was a slight jealous of them, while other days Rodger seemed to pose no threats. "You were asking me to come with you to Honeydukes, weren't you? Come along, idiot. Let's go."

The two walked down the street looking around at the many shops, till they finally arrived at the infamous sweets shop, Honeydukes. The tiny shop was barely visible under the mountains on kids inside. All they could see was what was in the window, things like Fizzing Whizzbees, Licorice Wands and Cauldron Cakes, in a marvelous display.

"Perhaps we should try again later."

"There has to be somewhere around here that isn't stuffed full of idiots." Tom groaned, looking around at the surrounding stores.

"They have a bookshop!" Frankie shouted, suddenly. She yanked Tom towards a shop that read, _Tomes and Scrolls, 1768 Specialist Bookshop 1768_. It was practically empty, other than the dozens of books just waiting to be read. "It's perfect. Get it Tom? _Tomes_ and Scrolls, maybe I can get a new Tom here."

"You're horrible at jokes." he retorted back, looking very unamused. Though, he silently hoped there wouldn't be a clerk in there named Tom. Frankie got along to well with salesmen, that's why they had to visit that nutter Ollivander. He did not want her to get a new Tom, even if she was just joking. Why'd his name have to be so damn common? It got rather aggravating at times. He had genuinely thought about changing it, but he had no ideas as to what else he would like to be called.

She pulled him from his thinking into the shop filled with books from floor to ceiling. It was a lot neater then Flourish and Blotts, everything so in its place that it made you not want to touch anything and screw it all up. It also seemed to defy the laws of physics. It was much bigger on the inside, with rows and rows in places you'd think were well into the store next door.

"Isn't it wonderful, Tom?" Frankie exclaimed. She made herself right at home jumping onto the ladder and looking at titles higher up.

"It's no Flourish and Blotts, but it sure is something." he answered, examining the titles next to the ladder. She looked at the books with such amazement and splendor and she hadn't even turned a single page in any one of them. Soon she'd have all of them resting in her arms if he didn't act now.

"One book. I mean it."

Her face lit up and she started going through a more serious search of the titles. She'd pull out a book, speed-read a few lines and put it back. Only after several dozen tries and about an hour of searching did she find the one she thought was worthy of purchasing.

" _Mystical Underwater Creatures of the Deep_. That shall be my book," Frankie finally concluded, stepping off the ladder with her choice. The book was ocean water blue with a border of ropes tied in monkey's fists at the corners. The center image was an oval shaped moving picture of Hogwarts very own Giant Squid, despite it actually being a rare, non-magical creature. A cephalopod that could grow to about the size of a Basilisk obviously warranted wizarding acknowledgment. "And what about you?"

"I didn't realize I was buying a book for myself as well."

"Come on, Tom. I'll pay for yours and you can pay for mine."

"I suppose it sounds fair." Tom agreed. Might as well take her up on her offer, he had already read through his third year textbooks a dozen times and it wasn't even November yet. He was in need of new material. It took him only a few minutes, unlike her, to decide what book he wanted. He had chosen, _Magical Medicinal Plants, Volume 1_. It was sure to be somewhat of help in Herbology. Although, it was not like he needed it.

The clerk, thankfully named Talon and having no interest in further conversation, ringed them up, and wrapped their books. They were out of there pretty quickly, for them. It had still been over an hour since they first entered the shop. The two started down high street and awkwardly passed Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop, being force to bear witness at the several students on dates. Then, they passed by Zonko's Joke Shop. The two just stared from outside at the several tea cups biting onto kid’s noses and people in dreadful hiccoughing fits. They would not dare to enter the madhouse, it was for more of boys with Quin's sort of humor. Speaking of, Frankie and Tom could see Aidan and Ethan laughing at a Dungbomb that exploded in Quin's face inside the shop. Many of the people inside had to evacuate because of the foul odor.

"He's quite the catch, isn't he?" Tom smirked, at the sight of Quin's dark green, dung-bombed face and the others fleeing from him. "We might as well head back to Honeydukes now. There's such a vile smell here."

They were back at Honeydukes a few minutes later, but unfortunately it was just as busy as it was when they had gotten here. They stood and stared at the chaos of candy-crazed kids, before Dylan came gliding down the street towards them. She was looking a lot better than she did back at the castle. It would seem she had just needed some alone time.

"Fancy meeting you two here. Are you trying to get into the shop?" she inquired, as she tried to stuff some Knuts back in her wallet while keeping hold of her shopping bags.

"Yes, unfortunately, it looks like we'll have to wait till next time." Frankie sighed. It was a bummer. The candy cart and the Halloween feasts were the only time she was able to have wizard candy and they didn't have the same variety that Honeydukes was said to have. Even by just simply looking through the shop window she saw new candies she had yet to experience.

"I can help you get inside." Dylan reported. Tom and Frankie both stared at her with confusion and curiosity. She had sounded so confident in her impossible statement.

"Really?" Frankie asked, sounding surprised. How exactly was she planning on doing that?

"I can try. Tom, hold my things. We’re going in." Dylan stated. She handed over her shopping bags and for some reason Tom took up the bags without argument. She linked her arm with Frankie's and backed them up for a running start.

"Are you ready?"

"Ready."

The two ran full speed to the shop colliding with the crowd of people. Tom watched as they moved through the shop, until he lost sight in the clutter of bodies. He waited a few minutes, debated going in after them, but then the mob spit them back out. Frankie and Dylan practically were shoved back onto the cobble street after they had paid and received their candy. Frankie held a fancy looking tin that read, _Crystallised Pineapple_ , and a giant clear-red lollipop.

"What's that?" Tom asked, pointing at the lollipop. It looked normal enough, but wizard candy was anything but normal. There had to be something odd and obscure about it.

"It's a Blood-Flavored Lollipop." Frankie answered.

"That. Is. Disgusting. What's the matter with you?" Tom snapped at her, as he handed Dylan's bags back.

"Aww, it's not so bad. Try it." she giggled, drawing nearer to his face.

"That thing is probably made out of something revolting and it's unfortunately _not_ blood."

She was practically chasing him around, trying to get him to have just one lick. It was hard to keep his composure with clear-red death staring him in the face. He had only little shame for hiding around Dylan and slightly using her as a human shield. Then, suddenly Frankie stopped waving the candy at him and was waving it at some figures coming down the street. They drew nearer and Tom suddenly regained his self-control and stature, along with a deathly cold glare. It was the Gryffindor boys again. Aidan, Ethan, and Quin.

"What are you guys doing?" Aidan asked, as the two trios combined.

"We just got out of the mob in Honeydukes." Frankie answered, taking another lick of the lollipop.

"Is that a Blood-Flavored Lollipop?" Ethan inquired, looking at the clear-red lollipop curiously.

"Yes, do you want a lick?"" Frankie asked, cheerily, shoving the lollipop into his direction.

"I'm fine, Frankie…" Ethan responded, slightly backing away a little from the horrifying candy offering.

"I will! For only a real man can handle this kind of candy." Quin stated. He looked over at Tom with a smug sort of expression that made Tom just want to shove his face through the Honeyduke's shop window over and over again. Tom forcibly grabbed Frankie's arm and licked the lollipop, still in her hand.

"That was nothing." Tom smirked, looking over at Quin with the normal, surprisingly even smugger, ‘beat that’ look. However, on the inside, he was restraining the urge to scrape his tongue. It was disgusting, like pennies and rusted nails, with just a hint of cherry. He suddenly had fear for what the hell happened to Frankie's taste buds for her to actually like something like that.

Quin needed to top him. He just had to. Quin took the lollipop out of Frankie's hands and bit off a large fragment of it. Aidan and Ethan were cheering, while Frankie and Dylan looked not very amused. It clearly was topping Tom's efforts, but rather than feel like Tom had just been defeated, he just smiled wickedly. He knew that Quin would soon regret that decision and make a fool of himself like always.

"Too easy!" Quin laughed, triumphantly. Even though you could see it in his face that he was having trouble sucking on the piece and was wondering the exact same thing that Tom had been. The two began shooting glares and looked for a fraction of a second to be even moving for their wands in their pockets.

“You foolish arse—”

“You foul bastard—”

"Stop!" Frankie yelled, above them, as she stepped between the crossfire of glares before it quickly became a crossfire of spells. Their glares both softened as they stopped looking at each other and became focused on her. Their actions were upsetting her, which was not what either one of them intended, “What's gotten into you two?"

"Stop being stupid. It's not like you're eating real blood," Dylan remarked. "Come on, Frankie. Let's leave these _'_ men' to their games."

"I'm not staying another second with the likes of _him_!" Quin shouted, turning to walk away with Aidan and Ethan following close behind.

"Nor am I staying another moment with him." Tom added, haughtily. They headed off in opposite directions, the trio back through town and Tom back up to the castle. Frankie's sullen expression faded as she watched them all leave and was replaced with a more sunken, sorrowed frown. She just didn't understand why they had to hate each other so much.

"Come on, we should be going back as well." Dylan told Frankie. She nodded and the two started trekking back up to the castle in the October chill. They had just gotten back to the castle when they spotted Professor Slughorn paused in the entrance. He was unraveling a long, thick scarf that was wrapped tightly over his bushy, walrus mustache and was wearing a thick winter cloak. It appeared he had also just gotten back in from the cold. He had probably been down drinking with some of the other teachers at the Hogshead, a popular tavern in the village.

"Professor Slughorn!" Frankie shouted. Dylan waved a departing wave, giving Frankie permission to go talk to him, while she headed up the stairs for the common room. Slughorn walked over to her and looked around, probably searching for Tom. It was rare to just see Frankie, when he normally saw her and Tom hovering over a cauldron together, or out walking together. Side-by-side and practically glued to the hip. It wasn’t supposed to be a normal sigh, but he had just gotten so used to seeing it.

"Hello, my dear. It's rather chilly out today, isn't it?" Slughorn remarked, giving her a warm smile that would surely help her get through the cold. "I just got some new leaves from Professor Beery. Would you care to join me for some tea?"

"Of course I would, professor." she smiled. The two walked to the dungeons to Slughorn's office. It was probably the smallest out of all the offices, next to Dumbledore's, but it was still a pretty large room. However, unlike the knick-knacks and useless trinkets Dumbledore had Slughorn's office was very orderly and neat, so it seemed much larger. The room was a little larger than the house common rooms and with the same sort of furniture. Frankie imagined it was kind of what the Slytherin dorms looked like. There were two stiff emerald couches sitting face-to-face, with a dark wooden coffee table in between them and a roaring fireplace on the wall. Frankie made herself at home and took up a seat on one of the couches, while Slughorn began to prepare the tea.

"So, how was the first trip to Hogsmeade, then?” he inquired, as he brought over the tray with the teapot and cups a few moments later, “The first visit is always the most memorable. They tend to get duller after you’ve been given the privilege for a while."

"It was extraordinary! Tom and I went to the bookstore, Tomes and Scrolls, and I got some Crystallised Pineapple from Honeydukes." Frankie answered, cheerfully. It really had been an overall fun and memorable experience just like it had promised to be. That last part was still bothering her though.

"I haven't tried them before. Are they any good?" Slughorn added, eyeing the tin sitting in her lap.

"You can try some, if you'd like," Frankie smiled. She opened the lid and set them on the table next to the tea. "They're my favorite, but I haven't gotten the chance to open them yet. I was too busy with a Blood-Flavored Lollipop."

"Ha, a Blood-Flavored Lollipop, you say. Why you must have the stomach of fifty men to be able to eat one of those. They’re meant to only be candy for vampires," he laughed, taking one of the Crystallised Pineapple from the tin. She smiled weakly at his joke and sighed as her mind was once again caught on the fury of two of her best friends about to duel at the sight of each other. Obviously, Slughorn took immediate notice of her sunken attitude, "Is there anything you wish to talk about my dear? You seem a bit down."

It was useless to try and hide her somber mood behind a veil of happiness, Slughorn could see right through it. However, she didn't feel like telling him what had happened quite yet, "Professor, when you were in school, did you ever have any grudges with anyone?"

"There were a few Gryffindor boys who I particularly didn't get along with. Why do you ask?" Slughorn replied, simply. It was just the kind of answer you'd expect any Slytherin to give, the exact opposite if you were to ask a Gryffindor. Although, he didn't say it like he was still angry or vengeful. It would appear time had long since forgotten, or even possibly healed, whatever had gone wrong between them.

"The grudge between Quin and Tom is wearisome. I don't know why they hate each other so much," Frankie sighed, sounding quite exhausted all of a sudden. "Are Gryffindors and Slytherin just destined to be enemies?"

"They just have completely opposite personality traits, my dear. That's the source of the hostility. They just don't have the same views or values." Slughorn answered, simply.

"Then, how come Tom and I don't hate each other?" She still occasionally worried about herself and Tom's friendship, even now. Somehow they were not threatening to curse one another and going at each other's throats, yet they were Gryffindor and Slytherin. They were placed into these houses for a reason...

"Who's to say? You two must have a stronger bond then that."

"Thank you for the advice, sir." she smiled, setting down her cup on the table. His simple words had soothed her worries and she no longer needed the tea to calm her spirits. Maybe, if she and Tom continued to be friends, there was hope someday for a friendship between all Gryffindors and Slytherin.

"Glad I could be of some help." he smiled, earnestly. He set down his cup as well and as if right on cue the small, golden clock on his desk chimed six. "I believe it's time for supper. Let's be off now."

Frankie did feel a lot better after talking with Slughorn, although it didn't really solve much. She showed up at supper and the Gryffindor boys were sitting there in their normal attitude, like nothing had gone wrong. For now, she supposed, that's what she'd have to do. She would be forced to leave the matter alone, put on a smile, and hope that someday she'd be able to find a way and change it.

The next day was the start of November and it had a nice, cloudy, fall Sunday walk to look forward too. Frankie soared out of bed and rushed to get ready. Winter coat, Gryffindor scarf, she was soon ready to face the harsh winds of November. She rushed through the common room and out the portrait hole and yet Tom still managed to somehow get there first. Especially, after last night's Halloween contest. They gave each other acknowledging waves and began walking without another word. A lot of stuff had happened yesterday and both of them were trying to find the right words to use without stepping on a landmine.

"I never got the chance last night to apologize for my behavior yesterday in Hogsmeade." Tom finally said, breaking the moments of silent walking. He could tell it had really bothered her yesterday when she had to cast herself between their stupid, petty fighting.

"It's fine...you and Quin don't ever get along. I'm already used to it from Potions class by now." Frankie replied, sounding normal and cheerful. Tom loosened a bit with her smile and they arrived beneath the tree like always. "Speaking of Potions, I got to have a nice chat with Professor Slughorn upon me and Dylan's return yesterday. We had tea with the tin of Crystallised Pineapple I bought. I think he really liked them, because he practically ate the entire box. He says Blood-Flavored Lollipops are just for vampires, though."

"Does that mean you're a vampire?"

"If I was a vampire I would have sucked the blood out of you a long time ago." Frankie hissed, doing her best attempt at a wicked, evil witch face. However, it was no use. She could never be scary to him, or anyone else, considering her actions a few hours prior...

What had happened during the Halloween contest last night was that Frankie got scared by a humungous Gryffindor first year and ran from her post. Tom had been awoken in the middle of the night by a fluttering paper crane, from Dylan, in his face. After mounds of cursing he could do because his roommates were all participating in the contest, he reluctantly got out of bed to go and rescue her. Frankie was found hiding in a dark corner on the 4th floor by a portrait named, Smith, who alerted Dylan, who for some reason felt the need to drag Tom out of bed to go fetch her. Despite the foul mood, after he found her, he ended up escorting her to the kitchen for milk and cookies from the house elves.

"Is that so?" he inquired, sounding suspicious and unconvinced. "I didn't realize you were so evil."

"I am the most evil being to ever walk the planet. Dark wizards cower before me!" she stated. Tom was trying to suppress a small laugh, after what happened last night, it was a wonder she was even a Gryffindor, let alone ‘The most evil being to ever walk the planet’. Tom's constrained laugh soon became noticeable to her. "You know nothing. I can hurt people, especially if my survival depends on it. First I'd suck the blood from you, then Quin—"

"I don't understand why you put up with that twat. He's an arrogant, selfish, arsehole." Tom snapped, suddenly growing serious. The sound of his name from her mouth made him fill with anger. However, it wasn't just because of his completely obvious feelings for Frankie. It might've been that a little at first and a good portion of it now, considering yesterday's argument. However, he honestly detested Quin as a person from the bottom of his heart. When he looked at Quin Tom just fumed with anger. He looked in his eyes he saw someone who had endured no hardships and had never suffered in his life. Guys like Quin got more parental love then they deserved and naturally it made Tom sick.

"I know you've never liked him, but he's always been rather kind to me. He’s my friend." Frankie protested.

“He obviously fancies you! Why can’t you see that?” he retorted back at her. How could she still be so blind? It made sense to be this dense with him, he was actually good at hiding it most times, but with Quin it should've raised some flags by now. Tom had seen it the moment he had met him, yet here Frankie was, almost three years later, and still completely oblivious to the boy’s grander feelings.

"He does not. And, even if he did, I wouldn't be interested!" Frankie yelled back, crossing her arms and turning away from him. Tom's anger slightly disappeared when he heard this.

"I'm sorry…"

"It's okay. Let's just forget about it. I don’t want to talk anymore…" she sighed. He thought after that statement she would leave him for his petty jealousy, but instead she leaned onto his shoulder. After the episode last night and their argument, she must've just wanted to sink into a deep slumber. Tom honestly did too after the hell she put him through last night and yet he didn't remove her to go take a nap in his room. He decided to just sink more into her and the obviously compromising position. She was undoubtedly too tired and too dense to notice anyway.

"Alright." Tom sighed, drowsily. She could read him like a book, but he could do the same. He knew even though she said she wasn't interested now, Quin and her had some sort of connection or bond themselves. It wasn't as strong as theirs, but there was something there in their warm Gryffindor air. He would’ve been lying if he said he thought Quin didn’t have a chance with her.

However, the battle wasn't over yet and Tom was not just going to give up without a fight.


	23. I've Never Met a Half-Giant Before

"I'm surprised, Frankie. You don't look very sad we're leaving this year."

Dylan and the others were packing their bags for the journey ahead of them. It was once again the evening before the day the students were going back home for winter vacation and as per usual Frankie was holding down the fort for everyone at school, still not having a proper home to go back too. However, this year, she seemed quite calm about being abandoned by her friends on an occasion that was supposed to bring so much joy.

"Well, it's not like I'll be completely alone. I'll have Ethan and Minerva. I can always visit Tom and Ogg too." Frankie smiled, as she cheerily jumping off her bed. She had a very mature, level headed, attitude about staying at Hogwarts for Christmas this year. However, she still didn't really feel like being in the dorms watching everyone pack, though. It still kind of hurt to see them go.

Perhaps, the boys would be downstairs procrastinating or she could sink onto the plush couch and read by the fire. She grabbed the copy of _The Monster Book of Monsters_ Ogg had given to her for an early Christmas present and began to walk down to the common room. Unfortunately, when she got there, the only ones down there were a couple of first year girls. They were getting in all the gossip they could before the vacation started tomorrow. They took one look at Frankie and her book and they ran past her for the girl's dormitory stairs. She sighed and stared down at her book's beady black eyes. _The Monster Book of Monsters_ wasn't on the school supply list anymore after an incident a couple years ago when a Slytherin girl's copy bit her in the ass and she tried to sue.

So, Frankie was the only one with a copy at school now. Not legally, of course. She had to keep it hidden for the most part, but it was harder to keep it from prying eyes around the common room. It was such a help with her Care of Magical Creatures homework. Then, someone came around telling the first years that it was going to eat them, which was technically true. However, it's not like she would just sit there and let it happen. Frankie sat down on the couch and was about to start reading when she heard a loud mixture of a hiccup and a cough coming from the stairs.

"I can't believe he fell for it!"

She turned around to see who it was and sure enough the usual suspects came clamoring down. Aidan and Quin surrounded Ethan, laughing, while he was hiccoughing and leaning against the wall trying to keep going straight down the stairs. The laughter subsided as their eyes met Frankie's, staring at them from the couch.

"It's nice to see you here." Quin smiled, taking up a seat beside her on the couch. However, she ignored him, getting up off the couch and running to the hacking boy's side.

"What did you guys do to Ethan?" Frankie asked, putting a concerned hand on the poor boy's shoulder.

"Oh, it was nothing really. He just accidentally ate a Hiccough sweet." Quin replied, like it wasn't a big deal. Then, he spotted the weird book next to him on the couch. Quin picked the fuzzy thing up and turned it over in his hands. "What's this?"

"It's a book." she answered, simply.

"It doesn't look like any book I've ever seen." he remarked. He stared at the small black eyes and the toothy clasp, analyzing it even further. Frankie was about to yell at him to just put it down, but Ethan's hiccoughing got worst and he once again had to brace himself on the wall for support. Frankie was too busy trying to help him to notice Quin starting to take off the leather strap bounding the book together.

"No! Quin!" Frankie yelled, noticing what he was doing only seconds too late. He had pulled off the securing buckle and the book went crazy. The book was chomping on Quin's head; little pieces of paper were flying everywhere, while he yelled and struggled to pull it off. Frankie stood up on the couch, to reach the top of Quin's head, and stroked the spine. The book fell to the floor, defeated.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Quin asked, backing away from the book on the floor and up onto the couch with Frankie.

"It's called, _The_ _Monster Book of Monsters_." Frankie answered, stepping down to retrieve the book from the floor.

"Why doesn't that thing try to kill you?" he asked, looking at how she was actually holding the book in her arms.

"All you have to do is stroke the spine." she replied, opening the book to her bookmarked page. It was a miracle it stayed in there and didn't get destroyed. She had put her old scarlet red ribbon to use as a bookmark. However, seeing it in the pages now, it'd probably be best if she took it out. It wasn't anything to special, but it was still one of the only things she still had from her parents.

"I'm going to take Ethan back to the room, till he stops hiccoughing…" Aidan stated, suddenly, leading Ethan with him toward the stairs. He tried to put on a concerned expression about his friend being attacked. However, you could just see it on his face that he wanted to laugh about what had just happened. The two left, leaving an awkward silence between Quin and Frankie as she began to get back to reading.

"So, are you going anywhere for break?" Quin asked, suddenly, in a desperate attempt to peel her away from her book and break the silence.

"No. I'm staying here again." Frankie replied, sounding a little agitated. She was trying to tune him out and concentrate on her book.

"Aren't you going to be lonely? No one's staying here."

"I have plenty of friends staying here."

"Do you mean like Riddle? He's no good," Quin added. "I don't know why you associate with a guy like that."

"Funny, he's said almost the exact same thing about you." Frankie replied, still trying concentrate. If she just ignored him and kept reading, maybe he'd drop it and leave her be. However, it was hard after what he had just said about Tom.

"Yeah, but we're different. He's a Slytherin. Don't you ever get a bad feeling about him?" he stated. He drew closer to her face, trying to peer over at what she was reading that was apparently so much more interesting than him. She backed away immediately.

"What's wrong with being in Slytherin? You know not all of them are as bad as people make them out to be." Frankie snapped back, angrily shutting the book in his face.

"I'm not saying their all bad. It's just that Riddle—"

"I've known Tom for a long time. He's not a bad person!"

"He only acts sort of nice with you because he fancies you."

"Funny, he's said the exact same thing about you." she repeated.

"What that's absurd! I don't—" he stopped himself. The over-denial was a clear indication of the ill truth of this statement, however, she was still too focused on what he had said earlier.

_It's just that Riddle…_

"I'm going back to my room. I'll see you next term." Frankie muttered, coldly. She got up from the sofa and turned to leave. She wasn't going to just sit idly by why he insulted Tom, like she wasn't going to sit by and listen to Tom insult him. She had had quite enough of both of their bullshit and bad mouthing.

"Frankie, wait!" he yelled, trying to chase her up the stairs. Unfortunately, the stairs were on Frankie's side and slid him back down before he could even reach the middle. Quin slid down on his stomach and then just laid there defeated.

"That went rather well." Aidan stated, sarcastically, emerging from the boy's stairs with the still hiccoughing Ethan besides him. The had obviously not gone upstairs when they said they were. He flipped them the double bird, with his defeated face still sunken in the carpet of the common room.

Frankie arrived back in her dorm room a few moments later. She slammed her book onto her bedside table so hard it growled in anger, dropped face first into her pillow, and screamed as loud as she could. Once the pitch subsided, a voice asked her, "Frankie, are you alright? Did something happen in the common room?"

Frankie rose up from the pillow to find everyone crowded around her four-poster bed. She sat up and took a deep breath before answering, "I'm okay. Quin just upset me talking about Tom like he was some evil git. He just see's what he wants to see. A Slytherin. He doesn't even know him."

"Those two again...The fighting just won't ever stop, will it?" Dylan added, with a discouraging sigh.

"It's alright, we'll give him hell on the train ride tomorrow for upsetting you." Bina assured her. It was an unnecessary gesture, yet nice. However, right now Frankie merely just wanted the matter to be left alone and to be alone herself. She stayed silent and went to sleep without saying so much as a goodbye to the others.

Frankie woke up the next morning to a room filled scattered forgotten socks and beds that had been left unmade in attempt to get out as fast as possible. She was feeling a lot calmer about yesterday's incident. However, unfortunately, now that she wanted to be with her friends they were gone.

She had nothing better to do, so she decided she'd go for a nice walk around the school grounds. She got dressed quickly and headed down stairs to an empty common room. Running through quickly, she tells herself that it is only temporary and she was not the only one left. Everything would be better when she'd get to see Ethan, without Quin, or eat with Tom at the same table. There were very few people that she passed along the way and the ones she did pass she did not know them. Then, a flash of shaggy blondish-brown caught the corner of her eye as she was walking down from the 2nd floor.

It was Rodger Day.

"Rodger? Shouldn't you be spending your last Christmas at home?" Frankie inquired, as she caught up and began to walk normal paced beside him. She vaguely remembered Roger going back home last year, saying that the year before had only been a special circumstance and he usually went home during holiday.

"I'd rather spend my last Christmas at school, actually _at_ school. That's kind of the point." Rodger replied, flicking her on the forehead like she was stupid. "Also, Éclair is going to be there again. I don't want to see her, not when I've got you and Alice here."

"Who's Éclair?" she asked. It felt like he had mentioned that name before. She must've been a sister, or a cousin, that Rodger didn't like very much. She was obviously the reason he never wanted to go back home.

"No one, Squirt. Don't worry about it," he laughed, rustling her hair. He never would affirm her suspicions about the mysterious Éclair. She would soon forget again. "So, why are you staying in around again? Wouldn't you rather go back home?"

"Tom and I live in an orphanage. We don't have homes to go back too."

"Can't you go back there, though?"

"Technically we are allowed to, but we'd both rather stay here."

"I don't blame you. I'm sure this place is more like home for you two."

"Of course." she smiled. He may have been a pain sometimes and, despite being even more prejudice then Quin, he got her and Tom strangely enough. The tone was getting a little too serious for her liking. It was time for a sudden light subject change. "Was it you telling all the first years my book was going to kill them?"

"Ha, of course. It was hilarious..."

They arrived in the Great Hall and sat next to Tom, who was already sitting at Gryffindor table, ready for breakfast. Ethan and Minerva joined the three a few minutes later and the food soon appeared. Frankie’s loneliness brought on by winter vacation was once again dissolved and she was allowed to feel at home again.

Christmas morning soon arrived at the castle, which meant early awakenings and presents galore. Frankie was one of those people whose internal clock knew what day it was and wouldn't allow her to sleep. She had been up all night, thinking about different things. She had nearly forgotten her argument with Quin, however, the memory caught onto her mind and gotten stuck while she waited in the dark. Luckily, he was gone and he wouldn't be able to ruin her Christmas too. Hopefully, she'd be able to get caught up in the joy of the holiday and forget him again. Frankie ran downstairs to find Minerva was already sitting by the tree, fixing one of the ornaments on the lower branches to appear more pleasing.

"Merry Christmas, Frankie." Minerva smiled, upon her arrival.

"Merry Christmas!" Frankie smiled back, running to join her and begin the festivities. However, there was something missing. She looked around for the awkward looking blonde boy that should've been sitting beside her. "Where has Ethan gone?"

"He must still be in his room. Why don't you go get him?"

"Okay." Frankie answered, as she got back up and started heading for the other set of stairs. The boy's stairs didn't have an enchantment like the girls did. Apparently the school thought the girls were a lot more trustworthy then the boys were and, really, who could argue with that? She started to climb to the boys' dorms until…

_BAM!_

Frankie rammed into something and fell back. She tumbled down the stairs, landing on her butt back in the common room.

"Ouch…" she whined, rubbing her lower back to try and ease the pain. It had felt like she ran into a solid a brick wall. Then, she looked up and saw a colossal face hovering several feet above her, looking down at her with a worried expression. Judging by the height Frankie suspected it was a boy, despite him having to hold his long, curly, dark hair out of his face.

"I'm so sorry. I do this all the time on account of my size. Honestly, I should watch where I'm going by now.” the boy apologized, offering a hand to help her up.

"It's not your fault. I do _this_ all the time as well." Frankie replied, referring to how she had a clumsy habit of running into people. He practically lifted her fully up off the ground as he helped her up.

"Hey, I know you. You're the girl from Halloween." the boy exclaimed, with a hardy chuckle.

"Oh, yes…I'm so sorry about that." Frankie laughed, awkwardly. He was referring to how she had run away from him during the Halloween contest, when she was the one that was supposed to be scaring him. She remembered him now…

"Aw, it's alright! No harm done. I'm Rubeus Hagrid, but you can just call me Hagrid." he smiled, extending one of his giant hands for her to shake. Frankie's tiny hand looked even smaller in Hagrid's, as they shook hands.

"I'm Frankie Dickson. It's nice to meet you."

"Um… it's my fault you got hurt. You were coming upstairs to get me, weren't you?"

Frankie looked to see Ethan was standing behind Hagrid. She had always thought Ethan was rather tall for their age; he had always made Quin and Aidan look short in comparison. However, he looked absolutely miniscule standing beside Hagrid.

"Merry Christmas, Ethan!" Frankie smiled, cheerfully waving hello. "Don't worry about it. I'm alright."

"Alright then, Merry Christmas!" They both walked over to Minerva by the tree to officially begin their festivities, while Hagrid began to walk back up the stairs to his room, taking the few presents he had with him after retrieving them from the tree.

"Do you want to join our Christmas party?" Frankie yelled after him. It was usually her, Ethan and Minerva's thing, but Hagrid looked like he was in the same boat as them and it'd be wrong to just let him go back upstairs alone. He paused for a second, contemplating the offer.

"I suppose I can make it." Hagrid laughed, cheerfully. The two walked back over to Ethan and Minerva and all began talking. The four did the things they usually did at their little Christmas parties, talk about what was going on in their years, opening presents. Frankie had gotten a book on transfiguration from Minerva, a box of Crystallised Pineapple from Ethan, and various garments and accessories from the Gryffindor girls. Her mood had instantly lifted up from how she felt earlier.

Suddenly, they heard a scream from upstairs. It was unsure as to what direction it came from. So, Ethan took the boy's stairs, while Frankie took the girl's, to investigate. She had a hunch of what it was. She only needed to check her dorm to be certain.

Her suspicions were astute.

Apparently, a couple of first years were daring each other to remove the straps that were binding her copy of _The Monster Book of Monsters_ _._ It had gotten loose and was now chomping on one of the forgotten socks. She grabbed is attention as the only flesh not on a bed, despite being its master, and charged at her. With a vague plan, she raced down the stairs and back into the common room

"Hagrid, Jump!" she shouted. He jumped up, not really sure as to what she talking about, and landed on the fuzzy lining of the book. He got off and Frankie quickly stroked its spine and re-bound it.

"What is it?"

"It's a book about magical creatures."

"I've got a bit of an interest with magical creatures, mind if I take a look?" Hagrid inquired, eyeing the book with curiosity.

"Of course you can. Here," Frankie replied, handing it to him. He was about to remove the buckle, when she remembered the vital information that he might want to know, "Stroke the spine!"

"Why?"

"It'll attack you." she answered, casually sitting back down to continue opening presents. He looked skeptic for a moment, then stroked the spine and began reading. Hagrid read on for a few minutes, before she decided to try and speak  with him again. She never liked it when people disturbed her reading; she wondered if he was the same.

"Hagrid, if you don't mind me asking, how come you're so tall? You're only a first year." Frankie asked, attempting to get him to stop reading for a bit and make conversation. Minerva had gone upstairs to talk to the girls as acting Prefect while the all of the four Prefects were on vacation. Dumbledore had asked her to do it and was surely going to make her an actual Prefect next year.

"It's because I'm half-giant, of course," Hagrid exclaimed, still reading the book. He immediately stopped with a more shocked expression then Frankie. "I should not have said that…"

"Amazing, I've never met someone who's half-giant before."

"You can't tell anyone, though," Hagrid whispered, harshly. "Some folks around aren't too fond of people like me. Got it?"

"You can count on me. I can keep a secret." Frankie nodded quietly. It was a little more than she wanted to know for a first conversation, but she technically asked for it. Besides, the fact he was already able to trust her with a secret and the fact he likes magical creatures, meant they were most likely going to be great friends. She felt a tap on her shoulder. Ethan was back. She wondered if he had heard what she and Hagrid had been talking about. "What is it Ethan?"

"If it's alright I wanted to talk to you about what happened the other day with Quin." Ethan stated. Her smile faded. Just what she was trying to forget…

"I knew you two didn't go back upstairs…" she muttered. Frankie turned away out of anger. If she looked at his face, she'd get mad at him too and she didn’t want that. "It was his fault and I'm not apologizing."

"I know, but you should just know that he really didn't mean it." he claimed. However, that didn't fool Frankie.

"He meant it all right…"

The party had ended along with Frankie's good cheer and everybody gradually dispersed into their own activities. She had allowed Hagrid to borrow her book, so she just returned to her room to waste the rest of the day away. The fun was over and Quin had been able to ruin her mood after all. He definitely put Ethan up to try and talk to her…

She needed something else to distract her again. Frankie looked around the room until she saw the plain black box on sitting on the floor by her nightstand. A massive wave of panic swarmed her. She had completely forgotten. Frankie grabbed the box and ran back for the common room. She was pushing out of the portrait hole when she heard voices from outside.

"Oh, ho, ho. My, what a charming young man."

"He can't be trusted, Violet."

"Nonsense. He's fine. _In more ways than one_."

"He's always loitering around here. That's extremely suspicious."

"Yes, but he's so handsome. If he's always coming around here, maybe I should come by more often too."

"Oh, Vi…"

Tom was standing in front, trying to ignore the Fat Lady and her best friend, Violet. They were having a slightly inebriated gossiping session about him right in front of his face. As much as he wanted to yell at them, he had to be in a somewhat of a kind mood when he saw Frankie. She had been sort of down, some argument with Quin or something. Tom didn't understand why she was even the tiniest bit upset about it. Good riddance. And he was here to make sure that idiot stayed out of her good graces. He held a box in his hand as well.

"Tom! What are you doing here?" Frankie gasped, jumping out of the portrait hole. She was just off to see him.

"I got you something." Tom replied, holding out the box to her. When Tom said got, what he actually meant was stolen. He barely had any extra spending money, unlike Frankie; his parents had left him with absolutely nothing. Also, old habits seem to die hard. Dumbledore said thievery was not tolerated at school, but Hogsmeade wasn't school. She set down the box she was holding and accepted his box. She opened it and found pearly white rabbit with piercing red eyes staring back at her.

" _Your Patronus would be a rabbit. I'm sure of it_ _."_

"It's rather strange that it's fur is not actually rabbit fur, but apparently made from an Arctic White Otter instead. What a poor choice of crafting, wasting the fur of an otter for this, and it’s so muggle. Unicorn hair would've been the more suitable magical material." He tried downgrading it to make it not sound or look as extravagant as far as stuffed animals go, so it wouldn't look like he put much thought into it. But it was actually an extremely thoughtful gift.

Frankie reminded him the most of a rabbit, her manor and attitude always had appeared that way to him. Then, she had also had a recent interest in marine life, since she had gotten that book from Tomes and Scrolls. All through November, when they would arrive in their usual spot, she'd face the lake and sit at its edge. She would read aloud to the water, as if the Giant Squid would snuggle up beside her, like she was reading it a bedtime story.

The stuffed rabbit was perfect for her. It was actually a very well-crafted creature, despite how much he downgraded, and had been put in a special case back at the shop in Hogsmeade. However, despite all of it's defensive measures, it was still child's play to steal for someone like Tom.

"Regardless of the many flaws, it still reminded me of you, so I got it for you."

"Thank you so much." Frankie exclaimed, her warm smile returning. She set the rabbit back in the box on the ground, picked back up the box she was holding before, and held it out to him. "Here, I got this for you. I'm sorry it's not as special. It's just from the bookshop on the corner back in London."

Tom took the box and opened it. Inside was a little black journal with his name, _Tom Marvolo Riddle_ , written at the bottom in small gold letters.

"I actually like it. Thank you very much." Tom said, setting the journal back into the box. The two had not ever actually exchanged presents before, given being orphans with no money. However, it is considered to be the mark of true friendship, knowing someone extremely well.

And she sure knew him well.

It took great difficulty to shop for someone like him. There was a scarce amount of things he liked in this world. However, the journal was perfect. He was more of a reader then a writer, but another book would've just not been personal enough. Any idiot with two eyes could tell he enjoyed reading. The journal had his name on it, which means sometime last summer she must've snuck off to that bookshop, used whatever muggle money she had to buy it, and have the owner monogram it. She too had put much more thought into his gift then she let on and he found her 'simple' muggle gift a sort of treasure really.

At that moment, the Fat Lady and Violet's drunken voices became louder and not ignorable anymore.

"See, Vi, I told you he already has a girlfriend. I've been watching these two for years now. You're wasting your time." the Fat Lady remarked, taking another swig of wine.

"She can't be his girlfriend. She’s a Gryffindor," Violet replied, turning her attention to Frankie. She gave her the typical up-and-down look Frankie got whenever someone found her associated with Tom. "Let just ask her then. Hey, you there. Are you the charmy boy's girlfriend?"

"No, we're really just friends." Frankie insisted, as she picked her box back up.

"See!" Violet shouted, seeming to ignore the fact she was just painted canvas and had no chance with the boy at all.

"If you would excuse me, ladies. I have to get back to my dorm now." Tom stated, turning to leave. He had achieved his task and now it was time to get out of here before those damn portraits gave him a headache.

"I'll walk with you back." she added, beginning to follow as he began walking down the stairs.

"That's alright. I can manage," he replied, holding up a hand to stop her. Tom wouldn't have her going anywhere near there after their first Christmas at the castle. It had been extremely unsettling. She just didn't belong there and he wanted her to stay as far away as possible. "Slytherin dorms don't have a guard portrait like Gryffindor, but I think it'd still be best for you not to go down there."

"Bye Tom."

He gave her a small wave back as he walked down the stairs and she turned to go back into the portrait, tightly hugging the box with her new friend inside. Girls her age had usually stopped loving stuffed animals and tossed them out by now. However, the rabbit had nothing to fear. A present from Tom Riddle was a rare and precious thing.

It was sure to always be loved no matter what.


	24. The Beast in the Shrieking Shack

The rest of vacation had been a fantastic waste of time and mindless frolic. One of the days, Rodger kidnapped Frankie from studying with Tom to join him and the seventh year's procrastination party in the common room. Another, Dumbledore found a sled that was plastered onto his office wall, among the various other muggle artifacts, and let Frankie and Ethan borrow it to sled down the snowy hills. They almost ran over several people together, especially when Frankie was at the helm. Then, of course, there were a couple of snowy Sunday walks. It was nothing but fun and good cheer for a couple weeks. The vacation, which Frankie was supposed to be dreading, passed by incredibly fast and soon everyone was once again returning back to school for lessons. Most were dreading to have to go back to their studies, however, there was not too much despair amongst the higher years. Almost immediately after they got back, would be yet another trip to the village of Hogsmeade.

"Frankie, you should stay with us this time. You always go off with Tom." Dylan exclaimed, as she was folding another jumper to put back in her trunk. She was still unpacking her things from vacation, even though they had gotten back almost a week ago.

"I suppose it'd be alright." Frankie replied. She was on her own bed, hugging the stuffed rabbit Tom had given her for Christmas. She had been very attached to the rabbit. It had been decided that her name was Rue and she had the same birthday as Tom. Frankie had read in a children's book at the orphanage once, that a stuffed animal's birthday is when you tie a ribbon around it's neck and give it a name. And New Year's Eve morning she had brought the rabbit to breakfast, so he could help her decide on a name,

" _I still don't know what to name it, Tom."_

" _You're starting to make me regret giving that to you. Give it here."_

He took the red ribbon from her head, tied around the rabbit's neck and named it Rue. It was a ‘symbol of his regret’.

"We should all go see the Shrieking Shack." Bina chimed in, listening over from her own bed.

"The Shrieking Shack?" Frankie repeated. She had never heard of it before, but it didn't sound like the place you wanted to pay a visit too. It sounded like a shack that, well, shrieked.

"It's the most haunted building in all of Great Britain."

"No way. I hear there are monsters in there." Sarah added, from all the way over at her bed.

"Oh, you're exaggerating Sarah. There's only rumored to be one monster," Bina corrected, as if that was any better. They all shot her questionable looks and she shrunk up a bit. "Well, it's not like we'll be going inside…"

Alice came to alert them that it was time to go and the girls left their room to meet the others in the common room. Quin waved at Frankie as she descended from the stairs, but she completely ignored him and kept walking, still not over what he’d said before the break. The Gryffindors walked to join the Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws, and Slytherins, who were already waiting in front of main entrance and, after everyone was taken accounted for, they all departed for Hogsmeade. Frankie at least walked with Tom, a ways behind the rest of the dispersed group walking down the path, to tell him of the other girl's plans. As soon as they got there she found the Gryffindor girls waiting for her. She waved Tom goodbye and left with them to the outskirts of the deserted house.

"See? It's only a house." Dylan stated, to no one in particular after moments of everyone just staring at it in silence. It really was just a house, to much of Frankie's surprise. She expected something more with the way the girls hyped it up, but it really was just a large, run down, filthy-looking house.

"It may look like that, but there’s a horrendous monster on the inside."

The voice had not been from one of them, but from behind them. It was a cruel chilling voice that they had all come to know far too well by now. Frankie and the girls turned to find Leri, Cackletta, and Ellyn staring back at them, looking high and mighty as usual. They all just glared at each other until someone dared to speak.

"No there isn't. You're just trying to scare us." Frankie added. She glared them down with the defiance that all the other Gryffindor girls held for the trio usually. For some reason, she had no tolerance for them today. She could sense that they were up to something again.

"If you say there's no monster, then why don't you go in there and prove it." Leri sneered back at her.

"I don't have to prove anything to you."

"So, you're saying that you're too chicken? So much for being a Gryffindor…"

"I am a Gryffindor." Frankie stated, strongly. She shouldn't have felt or cared about Leri's words, but they burned. How dare she question her placement into Gryffindor. Her parents, along with Ogg and Professor Dumbledore, were all Gryffindors in their time. They were her idols and her family. It was her dream to become great wizards like all of them, someone they could all be proud of.

"Then, just go into the Shrieking Shack. If you say there's no monster, then it should be easy."

"I'll do it." Frankie agreed, finally, with an exasperated sigh. She thought she might as well just get it over with and stop all this nonsense, rather than arguing with them all afternoon.

"You three have to go with her." Dylan added, before they could even cast looks of victory and superiority.

"What! Why?" Ellyn protested.

"How will you know if she actually went inside or not?" Bina reasoned, coming to her defense as well. She knew that the Slytherin girls could not be persuaded to let them go with her, so make those girls go with her as well. Anyone was better than going in alone and Frankie could handle their stupid tricks.

"Fine. Let's be off then." Leri grumbled, turning to head for the path.

The four silently walked up path to the Shrieking Shack, keeping their eyes fixed on the house itself. It was falling apart. You could see tons of missing wood and broken glass. It still had hanging curtains that were blowing out of what had once been windows.

Frankie swung the door open with one light push. The inside was just as worst. There were tons of empty portraits and broken furniture. They looked around, but besides the occasional mouse all they saw was an empty, abandoned house. Frankie gazed up at the diminishing staircase. It looked like it wouldn't be able to support even her small figure. However, despite that, she and the trio climbed up the stairs to the second floor. The first room had just a few more portraits, along with a couple of dusty, cushioned chairs. Frankie entered the second room the walls looked like they had been clawed. There were a few floor boards ripped out and shattered glass everywhere.

"What happened in here?" Frankie asked, looking more closely at the clawed walls. However, there was no one behind her to answer. The door had been closed and all she could hear was muffled snickering on the other side.

"Oh, not again. Let me out!" Frankie yelled, banging on the dusty door. Of course, they had locked her in... This was typical for the trio. However, what would they gain from locking her in this moldy, old dump? She stopped banging on the door after she heard some rustling. Instead of running off, they came to their senses for once and were actually going to let her out.

Unfortunately, too much of Frankie's dismay, the noises were not coming from the other side of the door…

She looked over to what used to be a magnificent canopy bed that was now a pile of various curtains and de-stuffed pillows. She couldn't see what was under them, but whatever it was it was _moving_.

"Girls, I'm not fooling around, there is actually something in here. Let me out now!" Frankie screamed, panic growing inside her. She tried "Alohomora", but they had something wedged up against the door and even put Drooble's Best Blowing Gum in the lock for good measure. Unfortunately, her efforts were in vain. The trio was running back down the stairs and had left her there to face whatever was in the room. The monster emerged from the curtains to reveal itself to the intruder. It was a monster alright, but not one ever encountered in _The Monster Book of Monsters_ _._

Unaware of her mortal peril in a far abandoned house, Tom was just walking around town, looking for a spot without an annoying bunch of people in it. Although, that seemed to be pretty much an impossible and fruitless effort. If he really didn't want to be bothered, the tree by the lake was his best option. For some reason there was never anyone else there besides them.

However, he found himself instead wandering through the trees to the viewing point of the Shrieking Shack. If Tom was going there, Frankie needed to be there with him. Surely she'd had enough of staring at an old, moldy house by now. Suddenly, there were voices coming from up ahead and for some reason Tom kept hidden behind a tree to listen. It sounded like the Gryffindor and Slytherin girls. Naturally, in a very heated argument, like pretty much every other meeting of the two groups thus far.

"Where's Frankie?"

"I don't what you mean."

"What did you do to her?"

"Nothing, I swear—"

"Then, _where_ is she?"

"What's going on here?" Tom asked, coming out from behind the tree. He had heard enough to trigger him. Where was Frankie? What happened? If she had gone off with them and had not returned, those foolish girls must have been the cause. What had they done to her this time? Tom glared them down and the trio backed up a little, "Tell me."

“She went up into the Shrieking Shack—well, we went with her too. We l-l-locked her in a room and left after she said she there was something in there with her,” Ellyn admitted, unable to keep her silence under Tom's deathly glare. "You've got to go help her, Tom."

He didn't need Ellyn to tell him to save her. Tom immediately ran off towards Shrieking Shack, leaving Ellyn to face the consequences of her confession of vital information. However, her confession would mean that, whatever the outcome of their transgression, she would receive less punishment from him when he returned. However, he was still going to make them all pay for this.

After fighting the blistering snowy winds, he burst through the door a few minutes later. He didn't know where to start looking. The place was ratty, but gigantic, and there wasn't any sign of her. For all he knew, she could've been dead by now.

Then, he heard a loud crash from upstairs and, with a small glimmer of hope, he ran up the stairs as fast as his legs could go. A crash meant she could still be fighting. She could still be alive. Tom took out his wand as he approached the door with the chair against it.

" _Alohomora_ _._ " Tom shouted. He tossed the chair to the side and tried opening the door. It didn't work. There was a surprising amount of chewing gum in the lock, of course. It was already time for Plan B. Tom kicked in the door, with a surprising amount of force, considering how physically weak he was. Although, considering how old the door probably was, it was not much of a triumph of strength. It opened to reveal Frankie standing, backed against the wall, covered with various gashes and bruises. She had her wand pointed at a large creature, towering above her, as tall as a double decker bus. It was growling in at her in anger, showing off it's sharp piercing fangs. Tom couldn't recognize it, but it seemed weird, even for a creature from the wizarding world. The creature looked like a bison, light brown fur, crumpled horns. However, it had red eyes, which were currently glaring at Frankie, paws instead of hooves and non-matching tiny purple ears.

"Frankie!"

"Tom, watch out!" she yelled. The beast swung one of its paws at him. He was unable to dodge in time and was slammed against the crumbling wall. Thankfully, he didn't get knocked out, or killed, but just received a huge bloody gash on his head. Tom was reminded of first year when Quin had poured ink in his hair on the first day of school. He remembered the ink dripping down into his eyes and onto his cheeks. It was just like that. Only much more painful and red. Tom tried to get up and fight, but felt a sharp pain in his right ankle. Damn, it was probably sprained. Tom just sat on the ground with blood dripping down the side of his face, his wand still pointing at the monster. It was clear to him that there was absolutely no way they would be able to beat this beast with only the ability of third years. Most likely Frankie had already tried every spell they had learned this year, so far, and clearly they had no effect. He's need more power if he'd want to protect her. It's attention was at least focused on him now…

"Run!" Tom shouted angrily at her. She could escape, while the monster finished him off. With his leg injuries and his limited magic, Tom deduced himself down to a hopeless case. He reckoned he had maximum of ten minutes left in him, which would give Frankie plenty of time to run back to the group in Hogsmeade and get far enough away. Dying was something that obviously terrified him, but he’d rather not take someone with him. Certainly, not her. If he could at least save her, it will have surely been worth it. It was not like he had too much else to live for.

Frankie stood there, slightly paralyzed, just helplessly staring at him as the monster drew nearer. She wasn't about to just abandon him, despite that probably being the last order he was ever give going to give her. However, she couldn't think of any spell she actually had the ability to do, that she hadn't already tried. Frankie had already thrown everything she had at the beast. She didn't have enough power to save him, let alone herself. However, unlike him, she refused to just give up. If only she was just a few years older, had a little more schooling and a lot more power, both of them could survive this. That was not the case, though, and she didn't know what to do.

" _Call it_ _._ "

A voice was ringing in her mind, telling her to call something. But what? She didn't know what it was talking about. What could she possibly call out to save her and Tom? She began to listen it a little closer and try to decipher the meaning. That voice was familiar. And then she remembered. It was the voice who always told her that she shouldn't give up, the voice who had guided her to the lake a couple summers ago. The voice had belonged to a little boy, from what she remembered, and he guided her to a ball of light. Then, it hit her. She knew what it was telling her to do now.

" _I need the sword!"_

Frankie pulled the silver ruby hilted sword from mid-air and wielded it like she had been using a sword all her life. Tom just stared in awe at this transformed Frankie, despite a monster being about to rip him to shreds. Bloody and gashed, with a murderous angry glare in her eyes. She didn't look like herself.

"Hey!" she shouted at the monster. It immediately turned its attention from Tom and started to charge at her. She shut her eyes and thrust the sword into what was hopefully the beast. There was a loud shriek of pain as she stabbed it in the chest and blood began to leak from the wound. Despite his ankle, Tom ran to pull a frozen, awestruck Frankie out of the way right before the monster collapsed to the ground where she stood. It had stopped moving and was just lying there with the sword still lodged in it chest. The two slowly approached the beast, being cautious of any surprise attacks. However, the storming red eyes turned black, and they knew she had done it.

"We're alive…" Tom remarked, in astonishment, once they were sure the moment was safe. “Thanks to you.”

"Nonsense, you're the one who found me. I had run out of spells I could think of, nothing was working. I would've died if you hadn't shown up." Frankie trembled, pulling him into a hug. She felt a huge wave of relief was washing over her, no longer was her heart pounding in fear. They were both alive. They were both safe. And in this moment, that was everything.

"I can always find you, no matter where you are, that is nothing of difficulty. I'm not the one who saved us though," Tom stated, suddenly being quite logical rather than emotional. He pulled out the sword and started examining the blood-covered blade. "Now, where did this come from?"

"I'm not sure." Frankie answered. He would think she was crazy if she told him a voice told her pull it out of mid-air. Even for magic, it was odd. Thankfully, he didn’t press on it.

"Let's just get out of here…"

The two left the Shrieking Shack without another word and started to walk back into the sufficiently empty town. It was sunset by the time they arrived and the group to Hogsmeade had already gone back without them. They walked back to the castle to accept their punishment. It was obvious there was going to be some kind of severe consequence there waiting for them. Tom held the silver sword in his right hand and Frankie's hand in his left. Unconsciously, he had grabbed it amidst their silence, for once not caring who saw. The funny thing about almost dying, it made you want to cling to the important things in your life and not give two shits about anything else. He wouldn’t let her go. The two didn't encounter anyone though, as they approached the main entrance. Supper had probably already started. However, a figure seemed to pop out of nowhere and they found Dumbledore was there at the entrance waiting for them. He didn't look at all cross or angry about their late arrival, though. He merely took in their appearance, his gaze getting caught on the sword in Tom's hand.

"And, where have you two been?"

"The Shrieking Shack." Tom answered. There was no point in lying, especially to Dumbledore.

"The Crumpled-Horned Snorkack…" Dumbledore mumbled, with a mix of a small smile and a saddened expression.

"The—what?"

"Follow me." Dumbledore sighed, holding out his arms for Tom to give him the weapon. Tom placed the sword in his hands and they all retreated inside of the castle.

The two were silently followed him back to his office, trying to keep their heads down. They were walking through hallways of murmuring students that had already finished supper and were perusing the halls looking for people to talk too. Araminta Meliflua Black and Walburga Black, Leri's cousin and older sister, were staring intently with hushed whispers. They had probably been told the plan beforehand, but Tom being with her and the fact that she was still alive was a new exciting twist. They could just hear Carlotta Pinkstone, a Ravenclaw seventh year, whispering to Rodger and Alice,

" _Isn't that one of your girls?"_

Finally, after a humiliating parade, they entered the small office and sat down in the two chairs specifically allotted for students. Both of them were expecting that, now they were completely out of public view, they were going to hear Dumbledore yell for the first time in three years and receive a grand punishment. Tom had his arguments ready, though. He wasn't about to get expelled for almost getting killed by those dumb girl’s petty prank.

"Can either one of you tell me what that is?" Dumbledore inquired to both of them, pointing at the shallow stone basin carved with strange symbols to the wall on his left.

"It is a Pensieve, sir. It allows you to view memories you've collected throughout your life. One draws the excess thoughts from one's mind, pours them into the basin, and is able to examine them whenever they wish." Tom answered, obediently, despite all the rage he was feeling. What did a Pensive have to do with anything?

"You're right, Tom." Dumbledore smiled, looking at him with a proud expression. It wasn't something they were supposed to have learned about yet and Tom had given a clear, correct answer. "The reason I have brought you both here is that there is a certain memory I think you should finally see. It's a rather powerful memory—”

"What does it have to do with us? Aren't we in trouble?" Tom asked.

"I suppose this matter does not quite exactly pertain to the both of you..."

Dumbledore trailed off into silence, before gliding off to a see through cabinet filled with dozens of glass vials. He searched through the labels for a few minutes, until he found the right one. He shined a vial up to the light that read,

 _Frankie Dickson, age 6, The Death of Francis and Elizabeth_.

"The owner of this memory is Frankie. I collected it from her when I took her to the hospital."

"Me?" Frankie questioned, sounding baffled even though the label said otherwise. She was pretty sure when Dumbledore first came to the orphanage to tell her and Tom that they were wizards was the first time she'd ever met Dumbledore. He’d never once mentioned saving her from the accident, which she found to be kind of an important detail to leave out. It couldn't have been Dumbledore was just casually walking by when the accident happened. He knew her.

"Yes…" Dumbledore responded. He was staring at the vial intently and a bit sorrowful. Frankie wondered what he thought about it, being the only viewer of it up till now. "This is the memory of the day your parents died."

"Is that why I can't remember? You took it away from me." Frankie asked, with a hint of bitter anger in her voice. The age's six to and seven were just a little blurry for some reason. She remembered a few things from the hospital, a few things from when her parents were still alive, but ultimately it was mostly forgotten.

And in that vial, was the most important memory of all…

The death of her parents.

"No. Most likely the reason you can't remember is because the shock of the event was too great. The memory still remains in your mind, concealed so you cannot feel the pain," Dumbledore assured her. He gestured them to walk over to the basin. The two obeyed and they looked over as he poured the silvery, cloud-like mixture from the vial. "Once you see it you will remember everything. So, prepare yourself."

"Hang on," Tom spoke up, before they dove into the basin. Not that he wasn't curious to know a little about her past, but, "Why am I going with her if it doesn't involve me?"

"Who said anything about you not being involved?"

"You did, about five seconds ago, you—"

Before he could finish arguing, Frankie had grasped his hand and suddenly Tom was being pulled into the basin against his will. All that could be seen was black smoke and disembodied voices, like the memory was preparing to be shown but wasn't ready yet. The two were soon standing in a house, at the top of a flight of wooden stairs. The house looked like a common London household, a little nicer then Wool's Orphanage. However, the only thing that really caught their eye was the six year old girl standing at the top of the stairs in front of them.


	25. The Lost Memory

Frankie and Tom had appeared behind an eerily familiar hazel blob of a little girl from the black inky smoke of the memory. The six-year-old Frankie was standing before them on the edge of the first step down a flight of stairs. They were both staring at her in amazement. The memory made her look so real. However, she was not even giving the thirteen-year-old version of herself or the random boy beside her even the faintest of glances. They were realer than she was, but they weren't really there. The younger Frankie began to run down the stairs with tremendous speed and was almost to the bottom when she tripped over the last couple of steps. They could see the realization in her bright hazel eyes that she was no longer breezing down steps, but half her body was in mid-air, clinging on to gravity.

" _I don't want to fall!_ "

She closed her eyes, mentally braced herself for the impending fall below and Tom noticed that his Frankie did the same, as if she were going to feel the immense pain as well. She was powerless to save her younger self. However, there was no need to because the fall never came. Both of the Frankie’s reopened their eyes to find that she was floating above the last few steps. A woman with the same sunlit hazel hair was walking into the foyer at that very moment.

Her mother...

Tom looked over at actual Frankie and she had gone running down the stairs to see her. She tried to reach out for her, but her mother ran right through her to grab the floating six year old by her stomach and pull her back down to solid ground. Tom ran through them, to his neglected Frankie. The memory hadn't even really begun and she already was getting tears in her eyes.

" _It's just a memory. Get a hold of yourself, it's not real."_

She nodded and they continued to watch...

"Don't do that again. Do you hear me? Don't you ever dare." her mother exclaimed, trying to maintain a calm voice. She looked around wildly, as if she feared they were being watched.

"Why?" Frankie asked, looking up at her mother with eyes flooding with a mixture of hurt and confusion. It had actually been a spot of fun in her otherwise solitary confinement of a life.

"Some things will happen. Very bad and awful things." her mother replied, vaguely. She sounded very tired and dazed, which was understandable considering the life she was forced to live. She led Frankie into the drawing room, where sat her father. He was a brutish yet handsome man, which looked like he should be off slaying dragons rather than drinking afternoon tea. Tom put his hand on Frankie's shoulder to stop her from trying to approach him, but she shrugged him off. She knew she could not touch him and she was invisible to him, yet she still wanted to be near him. This was as close as she was ever going to get. So as the other Frankie took his left side, she took up his right side, while her mother took up her cup of tea in her armchair. Her parent's chatted, sipping their tea, but everyone else in the room was focused on something in the corner of the room, slightly covered by old rags. The object was a shiny silver sword with a large ruby in its handle.

"Daddy, what's that?" Frankie asked, her curiosity getting the better of her, like always. Her parent's exchange questionable looks. Should they tell her? The six year old would probably not be able to comprehend, but it still wasn’t a good idea to tell her about that sword. She was supposed to be just a normal muggle girl, in a normal muggle family.

"It's a sword that has been in our family for a long time," her father admitted, despite his wife's glare not to say. He wouldn't lie to his daughter any more than he had already. However, he was still choosing his words wisely. "But, it’ll be going away soon. Then, you'll be able to go outside, use your magic and we can go back to our real home. Be a real family again…"

"Francis!" her mother hissed, between gritted teeth. Her husband had told the little girl too much. "Don't get her hopes up. We're not even sure if this is what he has been after."

"Once we move it to Hogwarts, Albus will be able to protect it. Besides, I think it belongs there. After all, the sword did belong to one of the school’s founders." he smiled, gazing over at the sword. It was plain to see him and the sword were meant to be, wielding it was always supposed to be his destiny. He was a hero. Unfortunately, circumstances trapped him in a normal muggle life for six years and it was starting to get to him. Although, he loved his daughter and his wife, he obviously missed his chums and using his magic whenever the hell he felt like it.

"Hogwarts?" Frankie asked, seeming to be the only thing she had understood out of all of that. It sounded like her father was going to be using that sword to cut warts of pigs.

"Hogwarts is a school. A school that one day I hope you'll be able to go to and make lots of wonderful friends." he explained, beaming down at her. His warm smile was just like hers. However, for once, Frankie was not smiling warmly back.

"Why can't I go outside and make friends now?" she inquired. She'd always look out the drawing room window at all the kids riding their bikes and playing hopscotch, wondering why she couldn't go out there with them. Her parents always said no. That’s all her life was. One big no.

"You just have to wait a little longer. It's not safe for you to go outside—"

"No! It's not fair. Normal kids get to go outside." Frankie screamed, cutting off the same old excuse. She didn't want to hear it for the billionth time. Frankie ran up the stairs, only to be followed by the invisible apparitions of her future, and shut herself into her room. Any normal little girl would have just busted out crying by now, but she of course was unable to be a normal little girl. She merely sat on her bed with the lifeless gaze, yet did not cry. She didn't understand why she wasn't allowed to go outside or make friends. It was something that she thought she deserved. Frankie sat beside her, wishing she could tell her younger self all she had to do was wait a little longer. Tom was waiting right around the corner.

Suddenly, the vacant gaze vanished upon deep thoughts and arguments Frankie could not hear. She stared at her younger self, puzzled for a moment, before she remembered what the little girl was thinking about that made her stop wanting to cry.

She was going to go get what she deserved.

If they wouldn't let her out, she would just have to leave on her own. Frankie packed a few things that she would need and planned how she was going to make her escape. Even at a young age, she was a very clever girl. She mapped out all possibilities and chose the route that was least likely to get her caught. Although, it was the most dangerous for a girl like her, climbing down the tree by outside her window seemed the best option. She opened the window, climbed onto the sill, leapt onto the branch, and down the trunk into the garden. She walked across the yard, until she reached the bushes that separated her house from the rest world. She had never been passed those bushes in her life. There was the whole world beyond those bushes and she was almost to it. For a split second her expression faltered and Tom and Frankie could see that she was debating going back. It was a foolish plan. She turned to go back indoors...

However, in a sudden surge of courage, closed her eyes, made a sharp U-turn, and ran straight into the bushes.

Not everyone apparently had a backyard. It was just bushes and bushes for a long while. It took her a few minutes, before the darkness faded and she actually saw a glimpse of the real world. Frankie had made it to a clearing where there were many kids playing cheerfully in the garden. Never had she ever seen so many other children in her life. It must've been a place destiny had chosen for her to start her new life in the world. Although, she didn't know how she would approach all of them, meeting everyone at once might be a little too overwhelming for a first step. Maybe it would be better to talk to just one other person first.

The closest one to her, that appeared to be alone, was a little boy. He was sitting at a little metal table for two a few feet in front of her, reading a book with a bit of an unamused expression, like he wasn’t really interested in the book he was trying to read. Frankie was about to move towards him, however, her heart was still unprepared and she quickly ducked back down into the bushes. Although, she had mentally planned out everything, she still wasn’t ready for talking with another person. What if he thought she was a freak?

"I saw that." the boy remarked, in a monotone voice. He had not even gazed up from his book, but had apparently excellent peripheral vision. Frankie emerged from the bush covered in leaves. It was no use hiding anymore, now that he had caught her. She got a much better view of the boy now. His neat black hair was slightly getting ruffled by the passing summer breeze and his dark eyes were glaring at her with discontent. A strange girl popping out of bushes covered in leaves; of course he found it a very bothersome affair.

"What are you reading?" Frankie inquired, skipping formalities and sitting down in the empty chair across from him. She was a bit nervous, it being her first time ever talking to another human being other than her parents. The boy gave her a look questioning her sanity. That seat was always supposed to remain empty.

"Nothing of interest." he answered, simply.

"Then, why do you read it?" she asked. The boy glared at her and the question he could not answer. It was a stupid question. Why did this strange girl need to know about why he read the book that he read? She must've been a new arrival.

"You must be new here." the boy chimed, with a fake sort of sweet and charming tone.

"I suppose."

"You suppose?"

"I ran away from home. I guess that makes me an orphan now." Frankie admitted, setting her head on the table.

"That doesn't make you an orphan. It makes you an idiot," the boy remarked, quite bluntly. "Why would you run away from home?"

"My home is a prison and I wanted to be free, not locked in a cage like some bird. I just want to live like a normal kid," she sighed, gazing at the other kids laughing and having fun with longing. She wanted to join them, be one of them. "So, I ran away…"

"I know the feeling…" he sighed, glaring around at the other kids laughing and fun with hatred. While she wanted to be here, he would've rather been anywhere else. Even if it was with two overprotective parents. "However, you should be grateful you even have parents. No one here has parents. We just have Mrs. Cole."

"Who's Mrs. Cole?" Frankie asked, in curiosity.

"You don't want to know…" the boy sighed again, turning a new page in the book. He was trying not to look at the strange girl anymore. The situation was starting to get a little close for his comfort. "Look, I'm sure they have their reasons for keeping you locked up. They're just trying to protect you."

"You think so?"

"Yes…" the boy stated, giving what almost looked like a smile. Being an orphan he could not related, but if he wanted anything he did not want the strange girl joining him here if she didn't have to. "You shouldn't give up so easily."

"I'll go back home then." she smiled, getting up out of the chair. The boy had given her a small amount of hope that a day would come where her parents would let her out. It might not ever happen, but regardless, she would go back wait for that day. However, not after she was assured that there was something out here she had to wait for. She walked over to the boy, holding out her pinky. "Promise that once I'm free that I can come see you again."

"I promise." the boy answered, interlocking his pinky with hers. Frankie waved goodbye, as she headed back into the bushes. She couldn't wait to go back to see the boy once she had her freedom. She had made her very first friend. She ran through back through the bushes until she reached was back at her house. She walked through the backdoor and down the hallway.

"Mum! Da—"

The words stopped coming out when she saw the scene she had arrived on. Her heart pounded rapidly and it seemed like all the air had been forcibly removed from the universe.

Her mother was lying on the hard wood floor, her hazel eyes wide open and held a sudden sadness. Her matching hazel hair was scattered around her, stained with blood; crimson. Her clothes, her favorite soft beige jumper and plaid-patterned dress, were bloody as well. She was lifeless. However, still had a stick clenched in her hand, as if she just been wielding it only moments before. Her father lay next to her, holding onto her free hand in his, with a stick of his own in his other. He appeared to be the same as her. Then, Frankie pried her eyes away from her parents to notice that there was a man she'd never seen before standing above them. He was staring at the silver sword in hand with satisfaction.

"Killed by the sword you so desperately tried to protect. Bloody fools…" he was muttering to himself, with a small laugh. While he was distracted, she ran to her father and mother's sides.

"Wake up!" Frankie kept repeating, shaking her father's shoulder. Miraculously, he woke up.

"Run." her father mumbled, weakly. He didn't even have a minute left. His strength was gone and he knew he was leaving. He smiled and gave his daughter one last look, before he joined his wife's lifeless sorrowed gaze.

"Don't worry, you'll be joining them shortly…" the bad man laughed, cruelly. She would not get any time to grieve for her parent’s deaths. The man was going to kill her too. She could run, go back to the boy and have his Mrs. Cole call the police, but she felt as though this man would come for her eventually.

The six year old knew that death was inevitable.

She looked at the sword that he had used to kill her parents, the reason why he had said he had come, and knew she must get it back at all costs. It must have been far more important than just giving her back her freedom. Suddenly, she stood up and lunged for the man.

"Give it back!" she hissed, hanging on to the man's arm. Frankie bit the man and he shouted in pain.

"Bloody brat, get off me!" he demanded, trying to shake the girl. The man succeeded and she fell to the floor.

Frankie fell right in front in of the sticks in her parent's limp hands. She looked at them with a glimmer of hope. It must've been some kind of weapon. Why else would both of her parents have one in their hands facing this man? She grabbed the one in her father's hand, quickly. The man saw what she was trying to do and hastily picked her up. He tried tossing her into the drawing room fire. She would've succeeded burning in the fireplace, but it was like a barrier had stopped her from going in. She hit the invisible barrier and sunk onto the ground. She sat there staring at the stick. It must've done that.

" _Please. Help me_ _._ "

The stick started shooting out flames and guiding the flames from the fire out and around her. Suddenly, Frankie was in a sea of fire. However, she, the man and her parents for some reason weren't burning. Frankie used the man's sudden distraction by being entrapped by fire to once again make a break for the sword. The man laughed, waving a small wave goodbye, as he disappeared into thin air with a popping sound.

"No!"

He and the sword were gone. She sat there weeping, unable to hold back as she always could in the past. Frankie had let the bad man who killed her parents get away with what he wanted.

" _I need the sword…Please bring it back!"_

Suddenly, the sword had appeared next to her. She clutched it to her side and was crying of somewhat relief. Frankie crawled back to her father's side and gave him back his stick and the sword. It did nothing, besides make him look even more like a fallen hero.

"I swear I'll be a good girl, Daddy! I won't ever leave again." she sobbed, into his chest. "Please don't leave me all alone…"

Frankie looked up again after a while. Her eyes were out of tears. She had cried six years’ worth of tears away in a matter of minutes. When she looked up, her eyes immediately fixed on the sword. It was that sword's fault that her dad, nor her mother, would no longer ever answer her again. She took it from him and stuck the sword into the flames, but no matter how hard she tried the flames wouldn't even touch it. They merely reflected on its blade. The fire was getting more out of control now and Frankie could no longer feel she had a protective bubble around her protecting her from the heat. She was surrounded by a sea of fire, yet she sat between her parent's making no attempt to escape. Her vision soon began to tunnel and she fell down beside them. This would be her end too.

What she could not see was an auburn haired, half-moon spectacle man part the fire, quickly scoop her up and rush her out the door. She also couldn't see the apparition of her future self and the boy from the garden, watching the whole thing.


	26. The First of the Founders

The two were back standing in Dumbledore's office once more, like they had not just been standing in a burning house mere seconds before. Tom could now clearly see why her mind had tried so hard to conceal the truth from her. The truth was horrifying. Even he who pitied no one, could not help but feel sorry for her. He peered over at Frankie ever so slightly, who should've been crying just as much as that six year old girl, to find something strangely a little more displeasing. Frankie wasn't crying her eyes out, but instead had that same slightly ominous glossed over gaze. She had unconsciously started holding his hand, or had he grabbed it in the midst of all that to try and comfort her from the pain. It was all he could do. There weren’t any words he could possibly give her to help with this kind of pain. Meanwhile, Dumbledore was still standing in front of the basin. He was staring into it, even though all that could be seen was the black inky substance swirling around, dancing in circles within.

"Fate is a funny thing sometimes," Dumbledore smiled, as he suddenly broke out of deep thought. The two looked at him confused for a moment, until they realized what exactly what part of the memory he was talking about. Of course, he was referring to the only part that wasn’t sad. "You do recognize that boy now. Don't you, Frankie?"

"Yes, sir." Frankie mumbled, quietly. She looked at Tom and cracked a small little smile. They had to keep silent during the memory, but he could tell she had really wanted to talk with him ever since her younger self went into that garden. "That boy I met was you."

"It would seem so." Tom replied, looking back at her. He attempted to smile back as earnestly as he could, but was unsuccessful. Smiling always felt so weird and unnatural to him. Tom couldn’t remember the last time he flashed a smile that wasn’t cynical. She still got his efforts, though. "I remember the strange girl from the bushes."

"Did you always know, sir?"

"One can never be absolutely certain about things in life," Dumbledore answered, vaguely. "But let's just say when I chose for you to be placed at Wool’s Orphanage that I had a hunch the little boy would still be there to keep his promise."

"Professor, what about the sword?" Tom inquired. Dumbledore walked over to his desk and picked the sword up to give them a closer look. Frankie's face tensed up a bit at the sight of it. The sword had new meaning to her now.

"It is the sword of Godric Gryffindor, one of the four founders," Dumbledore answered. They hovered over the words they had overlooked and had been covered by monster blood. _Godric Gryffindor_. "It is said the sword can present itself to any worthy Gryffindor in time of need—"

"So, what does it have to do with, her? I know she's a Gryffindor, but the sword appeared in front of her even when she didn't necessarily need it. It didn't save her from the fire. She even tried to get rid of it." Tom argued. However, thinking on the memory more he answered all his own questions.

_Oh…_

"Frankie, did you ask for the sword to come to you?" Dumbledore asked, seeming to ignore Tom's line of questioning.

"Well… I suppose I did," Frankie replied, thinking back on what her younger self was thinking. She had called for it mentally exactly like she had in the Shrieking Shack. "But, what's that have to do with—"

"See it is true that any worthy Gryffindor can obtain the sword in time of need, but only a true descendant can call upon it whenever they wish."

"Does that mean I'm—?"

"Yes, my dear. You're the last known descendant of Godric Gryffindor." Dumbledore answered, handing over the sword. She did not take it. Frankie sunk into one of the empty chairs, suddenly feeling weak at the knees.

"Me? A descendant of Godric Gryffindor," Frankie questioned, in disbelief. "That's impossible."

"The sword has been in your family for generations," Dumbledore smiled. "It is definitely possible."

As she began to marvel in the discovery, Tom couldn't help but feel a sense of jealousy. Frankie finally knew about her family, while Tom still knew absolutely nothing of his. All his mother had left him when she gave up on life was his common name. He always assumed his father was the magical one, since his mother just gave in to dying without a fight, but he really wasn't certain. He knew nothing about his family origins. Frankie, on the other hand, had been made into a somewhat important person in this world and, as a descendant of a founder of Hogwarts, must have had much more power than he did. She knew who she was now and all the secrets had been uncovered in just one little trip into a Pensive. They were no longer on the same level, the same page in a book. It was like she had been placed on a high pedestal that he was no longer able to reach her, or had speed-read several chapters ahead of him. Who was she?

They both left Dumbledore's office with too much to even wrap their heads around. Supper had let out a few more students to whisper about the bruised and bloody pair as they walked through the corridor to the Great Hall. They didn't really have time to fix their appearance before their late supper, so they just had to walk into the Great Hall looking like they had gotten into a big fight with one another. The Gryffindor third years had just been leaving the hall when they noticed Frankie and Tom walking in. They took one look and swarmed around her.

"Frankie, what happened?"

"Oh, thank goodness you're all right."

"We've been so worried."

There were various people all talking at once, expressing worry and relief. Quin stood among them silently, not saying what he wanted to say, out of respect for the fact that she was mad at him. He was the only one who noticed Tom was standing just outside the circle surrounding her and oddly decided to walk up to Tom instead.

"So, what happened?" Quin asked him. Tom stared at him oddly. Was he really expecting them to be able to have a normal conversation just because they were both not welcome in the circle?

"Nothing you should be concerned about." Tom answered, strangely polite. He wasn't about to tell Quin of him and Frankie's slight brush with death. Besides, he probably didn't want to hear the story anyway, considering it involved Tom being her hero instead of him.

"Right and I'm supposed to believe that giant gash mark across your forehead was just you slipping and falling. Didn't know you were that clumsy, Riddle." Quin remarked, with a small chuckle. He wasn't trying to be mean, for once, and Tom knew it. He just wasn't comfortable with it.

"I got this mark protecting her, something you will never be able to do." Tom smirked, all high and mighty, as he turned away. He did not even need to see Quin's reaction to know it was one of jealousy and hatred, back to where it should be. He headed over to the Slytherin table, where all the Slytherin boys were waiting for him as well. They noticed his appearance, but unlike the Gryffindors he got more comments of admiration rather than worry.

"I bet he beat the crud out of someone. Hopefully a Gryffindor!"

"Nah. He probably snuck into the Forbidden Forest."

"You’re a lot tougher than we thought, Tom."

The only ones who wouldn't dare go near him was the trio. They sat off to the side in silence. However, for once, Tom wanted to speak to them more than anyone. He left the group of fans behind and casually strolled up beside them. Instead of looking overjoyed or giddy that he had willingly come to talk to them, they all looked absolutely terrified.

"Considering she and I made it out alive, I'm not going tell on you three for making her go in there in the first place," Tom reported, too much of their surprise. The trio looked relieved, but he wasn't done yet. "However, I believe that gives me the right to order you to stay the hell away from us. No more petty tricks or else I will kill the lot of you. And, trust me, that’s not just a figure of speech. You tried to kill her and I will gladly return the favor.”

The trio looked like they wanted to protest, however, nodded in agreement.

“Do not test my patience. You will find I’m not as charming as you think I am…"

"So, you actually killed the monster in the Shrieking Shack."

The Gryffindor girls were trying to get Frankie to talk more about her adventure in the Shrieking Shack. However, she didn't seem in the mood for talking. She lay curled up on her bed, appearing to be in deep thought.

"I suppose." Frankie replied, quietly. She had more important things on her mind than that. While it was true she and Tom had fought the monster in the Shrieking Shack, there was a lot more to it than that. She had not only just realized she was a descendant of their house founder, but also realized it was her fault her parents were dead.

She had still had the Trace on her and that's why she wasn't allowed to use magic or go outside, not because her parents were being overprotective, but scared of being found. They had probably placed protective charms around the house and once she left that man used her to track them down. For the first time she felt she missed her parents, now that she knew the truth. If only she had waited just a little bit longer, like her father told her to, they would be alive and she wouldn't be stuck in an orphanage.

Frankie woke up the next morning and thought she'd to go to Ogg's house for a visit. He was sure to have dozens of stories about her parents and for once she was in the mood for hearing them. She walked down early to find only one other person sitting on the couch in the common room. Hagrid was snoozing soundly with her copy of _Dragon Species of Great Britain and Ireland_ in his lap.

"Good morning, Hagrid." Frankie greeted, sitting down next to him. His eyes shot open and he looked around confused, until he spotted her on the couch beside him. "Sorry…"

"It's fine. Better you to wake me up before Dorothy gets here," Hagrid smiled, drowsily. Dorothy was this year's new Prefect, who cracked the whip a little more than Alice ever did, or the sixth year's girl Prefect, Lillian. He picked up the book off his lap and handed it to her. "Here's your book. I just finished it."

"What did you think?"

"I found it very interesting, considering I've always wanted a dragon ever since I was little. Had lots of information I never knew about em' before." he answered.

"You should come and visit the gamekeeper with me. He knows a lot about dragons and other magical creatures." she smiled, sounding a bit hasty and excited. Ogg and Hagrid and would get along perfectly, it was a shock that they hadn't met already. Although, Frankie had originally planned to talk about her parents with Ogg she was already having second thoughts and quickly invited Hagrid so it could not come up.

"That sounds fantastic!" Hagrid answered. The two got up off the couch and walked towards the portrait hole.

"Go away! Shoo, Shoo. If you know what's good for you, you'll leave now."

The Fat Lady was shouting at Tom to leave, like usual when he came around. He was semi-successfully ignoring her, until he noticed the Fat Lady's rant was moving farther away, muffled slightly by the wall, and Frankie had finally come out.

"Let's go already," Tom ordered, grabbing her hand immediately. He had pulled her arm so fast she dropped her book in front of the portrait. She tried to explain to Hagrid, but Tom was tugging her down the stairs and if she didn't keep up she'd trip and fall. They were already too far away for him to hear her anyway. He seemed to be in a great rush. "Don't you remember? It's Sunday."

"I'm sorry. I forgot," Frankie apologized, as she tried to be careful about falling down the stairs and dragging him down with her. A lot had happened yesterday and she had dozens of other things on her mind than their Sunday walk. He suddenly stopped at ground level and she bumped into his back, remaining on the first step. "Is there something wrong? Are you okay?"

"'Are you okay?' That's supposed to be my line." Tom mumbled, keeping his back turned to her. "You shouldn't be okay with this."

"What do you mean?"

"You never got enough time to grieve for your parents and I know you want to cry, now that you can remember," he snapped. Tom didn't understand why she wasn't hauled up in her room crying. Everything was different now. She just watched her parents die and realized it was mostly her fault. "It's okay to cry sometimes. You don't have to always hold it back anymore."

"As much as I want to, I can't. I know the boy I met in the garden doesn't really want to see me in tears," she replied, with a small smile. "The voice I always hear, the one who tells me not to give up or cry in low moments, is the six year old boy from the garden. Even though I forgot about him, he's always been with me protecting me. My very first friend. He'll always hold a special place in my heart"

"And the strange girl from the bushes will always hold a special place in my heart as well…" Tom added, turning to look at her finally. Despite all the cuts and bruises from yesterday she looked like the most beautiful girl in the world to him. Her brown wavy hair just hit her shoulders, and thankfully had no bloody residue from yesterday, her hazel eyes were staring right at him, and she had her usual warm smile he had foolishly tried to get rid of. Tom walked up so close that their noses were almost touching. She looked confused. He leaned in closer and kissed her right on cheek. It was only for a moment, but when he pulled away he could see her cheeks turning a bright scarlet red.

"If you were any other girl at the orphanage, that would've made you cry." Tom claimed, trying to make his action seem justified. It wasn't a lie entirely. It had been like the 'kiss of death' he used purely for scare, whenever he saw the opening on a girl's hand. However, Frankie's wasn't like that. He wasn't exactly sure what was trying to do. It was like he couldn't control himself for a second. His body had acted on its own. "Come on, idiot."

"Okay." Frankie smiled, awkwardly taking his hand again. She let out a small chuckle as Tom made the gesture out to be more of a joke and he laughed along to keep up the charade. However, as the two walked on towards the tree by the lake, Tom could only think of one thing.

Next time, he wouldn't be aiming for just her cheek.


	27. A Most Fearsome Holiday

"Where is the normal chocolate?"

Frankie and Dylan were standing in Honeydukes a few days before Valentine's Day, looking at all the chocolate. As third years with permission to go to Hogsmeade, it was going to be the first Valentine's Day that they could actually get chocolate for people that they liked. Unfortunately, they were having a little trouble picking out which ones they could actually give to someone without ruining their relationship with that person. They had the usual Chocolate Frogs and Chocolate Wands, but any other chocolate options seemed a little fishy. Illusion Chocolate, Transfiguration Truffles, Harry's Happy Enhancing Chocolate Bars. They didn't seem to have any chocolate that didn't have magical side effects.

"We're not in the muggle world. In the wizarding world, chocolate usually has something else to it," Dylan replied, to Frankie's question. "Most of the ones here have good intentions. It's the ones from Zonko's you have to watch out for."

"What do you mean?" Frankie asked, staring off into the direction of the joke shop. The shop was usually full of boys, laughing and pulling pranks on each other before they even got out of the shop. However, today it was full of girls carrying out boxes and bags, all with an overly happy, secretly evil, sort of smile. There wasn't a boy in sight.

"Well, they have chocolate spiked with love potions and chocolate that makes whoever eats it become their slaves..."

Frankie was looking at all the chocolate around them a little differently now, with a little more fear and a lot more disappointment. Her Valentine's Day plans were ruined. There was no way she could give that person drugged chocolate. However, if she didn’t give him something, it might look like she didn’t care about him.

"Excuse me. Yes, I think I'll just take these…"

They had left the shop with their purchases and were in the midst of deciding what to do next when Tom spotted them. He had been looking for the better part of an hour for Frankie at least. They were supposed to meet at Tomes and Scrolls, but she had never showed up. "Frankie, where on earth have you been?"

She jumped and hid whatever she was holding, behind her back, "Nowhere—I mean Dylan had to get chocolate at Honeydukes, so I went with her." she claimed, hastily. What horrible lying, Tom thought to himself. She obviously was hiding something from him. However, he decided to ignore it for the moment. Whatever it was that she was hiding, she wouldn't be able to keep it from him for long.

"Right, well I'm heading back up now. Are you coming?"

"I think I'll stay a bit longer."

The next day she was acting fishy as well. During their walk, he had just asked her if she was planning on finishing up the Defense Against the Dark Arts project and she got all jumpy again. It could've possible had something to do with Valentine's Day. This was the first year the girls of their year were getting super hyped about it for some reason. Frankie might've been planning to give a boy chocolate, for all he knew. She hadn't shown any other previous signs of having feelings for anyone, so why now? It was irritating. She was obviously keeping _something_ from him. He tried not to dawdle on it too much and just take her back, before his anger and frustration got the best of him.

Monday soon arrived and the fact that there was school at least died down some of the horror. However, on the way to classes there were some outliers amongst the crowd. A seventh year was missing his arms, a fourth year boy had a raining storm cloud over him, even Kenneth Cadwallader, a not very popular Hufflepuff boy from their year, had gotten a Transfiguration Truffle. He was now a piglet wearing a Hufflepuff tie and being carried by Isabelle Lalonde to Herbology with the other third year Hufflepuff boys snickering behind them. While the third year Hufflepuffs and the Ravenclaws were off to Herbology, the Gryffindor and Slytherin had double Defense Against the Dark Arts together this year.

Tom practically sunk into his seat beside Frankie and Dylan with relief, after almost having to choke several girls to get there. This morning was already turning out to be a nightmare. He had already gotten eight different girls try to give him chocolate and he hadn't even spoken a cold word to any of them before. It was ridiculous. Who even created this horrendous holiday?

"Valentine's day. What a crap holiday." Professor Merrythought chuckled, crudely. Professor Merrythought was a single witch, age fifty five, who for obvious reasons hated the holiday with a passion as well. Nowadays, her only somewhat romantic kick in life was pairing her students she thought had good chemistry. It didn't matter what house you were in. That's why Tom sat at a table with two Gryffindor girls. Which one the professor thought he should be with, however, was only slightly a mystery.

"Um, Professor Merrythought. We're kind of in the middle of a lesson." Tom reported, like a good student keen to learn. Yet he actually wanted to exclaim about what a true sentiment he thought it was.

"Oh right. Today we're going to be learning about Boggarts. Can anyone tell me what a Boggart is?" Professor Merrythought laughed, as if she hadn't said anything before.

"A Boggart is an amortal creature that can only take the form of a viewer's worst fear." Tom answered, immediately.

"Very good, Tom. Ten points to Slytherin." Professor Merrythought beamed, making note of the points on a nearby scroll. Most people would've said, "Brilliant!" at Tom's superior knowledge.

The other boys, specifically Quin, whispered, "Know-it-all…"

"Now, if you have not already guessed, in this wardrobe is a Boggart. I believe the best way to learn is from experience, so today you will be facing a real Boggart," Professor Merrythought explained, gesturing to her raddling wardrobe. A hushed murmur fell over the third years. They weren't just facing some wild creature. They would be facing their worst fears in a matter of minutes. Not only that, their worst fear was about to be put on display in front of everyone. "The spell to ward off a Boggart is on page two hundred and twenty-four of your textbook. I'll give you a moment to study it and read the information about the beast, and then everyone will line up over here."

Everyone went into a serious rapid studying, not wanting to be the one that failed in front of everybody after having their worst fear displayed. If it was going out in the open, they were going to dispose of it as quickly as possible.

"Alright, Ms. Aguilar. Are you ready?"

It was strange to see the fears of your fellow peers, yet very, very intriguing at the same time. Dylan's greatest fear was freezing to death. Icy wind was released from the cupboard and swirled around her ankles, beginning to slowly form ice crystals. Avery was painfully afraid of spiders. The sparkly pair of legwarmers Dylan had produced suddenly jumped from her legs and formed a herd of spiders scurrying towards him at high speed. Sabina was seriously afraid of thunder, Leri incredibly fearful of frogs and other amphibians, and Paul was apparently afraid of rejection.

"Ms. Dickson, you're up." Professor Merrythought stated, once Paul had just nearly vanquished his fear. She nodded to Merrythought and stepped forward. Paul wished her good luck and, once he was completely in the crowd behind her, the Boggart changed.

The Boggart had turned into a fire that spread across the room, but did not burn. Frankie had at first been so ready to counter just moments ago, but suddenly her mind seemed to go blank as she stared at the burning flames. She found the Boggart was pulling her close and she was falling into the flames.

" _Riddikulus_ _!_ " she shouted, mid-fall. She ended up falling onto a whole bunch of whoopee cushions. The class laughed as she scurried to get up, while Tom let out a silent sigh of relief. She didn't look like she was going to make it, for a moment. Professor Merrythought congratulated her on an excellent job and she rejoined the group. The next one up was Sarah, who's worst fear was her mother leaving, Elric was afraid of drowning, Cackletta had a fear of doctors, Ethan was afraid of some strange vortex the Boggart had turned into, Lilac was afraid of blood, Lestrange was afraid of automobiles, Malfoy was afraid of defeat, Quin was afraid of guns, and then Ellyn was afraid of rats.

"Mr. Riddle, it's time."

Tom stepped forward confidently. He didn't have any fears, therefore the Boggart wouldn't have a form to assume and he'd win automatically. However, the Boggart seemed to think otherwise. The room went silent as the dead corpse of Tom Riddle lay on the floor in front of him. A feeling washed over him that he had not truly felt since Dumbledore lit his wardrobe on fire when he was nine. Fear. Tom tried to think of the counter curse that had been uttered several times before him, but his mind was drawing blank. Even if he could manage the spell, nothing would happen because nothing amused him.

The bell rung, disrupting the silent staring at both of the Toms and signaling the lesson had ended. Professor Merrythought stepped in front of the real Tom and cast the Boggart back into its wardrobe so fast that no one could even see what her fear was.

"Look at the time! We'll finish up tomorrow then." she smiled, with a nervous laugh. The hushed whispers began as everyone was packing up their books. It was clearly odd to see the perfect, future Prefect, teacher's pet, Tom Riddle, not be able to do a simple counter curse. He didn't have fears or emotions, how did it beat him? Professor Merrythought gave Tom a reassuring look that said he wouldn't actually have to face the Boggart tomorrow and he rushed to go pack his things with the others.

Tom stormed off to Divination, alone. He knew Frankie wanted to talk with him about the lesson, about what had just happened, ask him if he was alright and be the supporting friend. They weren't going to the same class, but they were in the same direction. Tom wasn't in the mood for talking, though. Not even to her. And even if he was, he wouldn't tell her the truth. He'd lie, tell her he was fine and bottle up his emotions again. For being the only person Tom considered a friend, he really didn't talk to her much about his feelings.

Frankie walked off to Care of Magical Creatures, alone. Maybe he'd be better by the time Potions came around. She tried to push it out of her mind and focus on what Professor Kettleburn was saying during the lesson. Knowing his teaching style, she could die if she didn't pay attention. Eventually, Potions came around and she discovered that Tom was still in a foul mood. He glared at her for her constant staring and had snapped at Quin for accidentally sending a Sopophorous Bean flying at his face. The anger even lasted all the way through the last class, Herbology. He mindlessly snipped off almost all the leaves on his Shrivelfig tree. Professor Beery thought he was sick and sent him back to the dorms early. It looked as though she would not be able to talk to him today. It wasn't fun, having her best friend ignore her. Frankie continued the rest of the day in a bad mood as well. Classes soon ended and everyone drifted off to their own activities till supper.

Sometimes he'd walk with her to supper. Well, it was more like casually walk next to her without addressing her presence. She liked to think he was secretly trying to walk in with her, though it was probably just regular coincidence. This evening, the tables were filled with chocolate everything. However, the paranoid and intelligent Frankie still didn't dare to touch a piece. Unlike Rodger, Quin and the rest of the Gryffindor boys. Chocolate was chocolate no matter what. Surely it was safe if it was on the house table. They spent the hour devouring, while Frankie left before the actual food had even come. She ran up to her room and immediately went into a search to find a book to occupy the rest of her time with. This horrible day would soon be over. When she lifted her head from the trunk with the book of her choice, she noticed something different about her space of the room. A new crane had landed one her bedside table. She snatched it up eagerly and unfolded it,

" _Get out here. Now._ _"_

Frankie grabbed what she needed, put on her shoes again and left her room to answer the call. She saw a few poor people, who had returned from supper early because they had fallen victim to some "house table" chocolate, in the common room. Minerva had cat ears, Bina was literally sparkling, and one of Ethan's hands was a snake. Frankie ran through the chaotic common room and out the portrait hole, to find the person who had called upon her waiting there like always.

"Care to take a walk?" Tom asked, upon her arrival. He seemed to be in a somewhat better mood then earlier.

"We just went on one yesterday." Frankie reasoned, although their walk yesterday wasn't very well and had not lasted very long. She had been very jumpy because she was keeping a secret. A secret she still kept hidden behind her back.

"I know, but staying in the castle has a high risk of getting us both drugged."

"I suppose I would feel safer…"

"Today's Dark Arts lesson was something, wasn't it?" Tom remarked, as they walked along the path down by the lake.

"Yes. I didn't even know that was my biggest fear, to tell you the truth. However, it does make sense." Frankie replied. Ever since finding out about her parents it was only natural her worst fear stemmed from that memory. Tom was surprised to find out her biggest fear was not actually the bad man himself. Sometimes he even wondered if he should mention that the man who killed her parents was still at large. Of course, unless he wanted to give the girl he loved a new worst fear, he would not mention it. Currently, she didn't even seem to be concerned with her own fears at all, though. "Is dying really your biggest fear, Tom?"

"Apparently so. I don't really think much on the subject of fear," Tom replied. However, he had been thinking of it a lot ever since he left Defense Against the Dark Arts. It was what had put him in such a foul mood. Why was that his fear? Using most of the day for deep thinking, he had come to some sort of logical conclusion. "It must be because of my mother."

"Your mother?" Frankie asked, sounding surprised. Tom never had mentioned his mother before. The other kids were always convinced he was the spawn of hell that burst out of an innocent woman's stomach at birth, it made sense he never wanted to talk about it. It was a raw subject for any orphan and he had always seemed like one of the ones who would never speak to you again if you mentioned it even once.

"She died right after giving birth, rather than even attempting to try and raise me. She chose to die and left me at the orphanage." he answered. There was a small hesitance to go any further, but if there was anyone he could tell this to, it was her. She sort of knew what it was like to hate her parents, till she found out the truth, and she wasn't the type to judge. He could trust her.

"I'm sure she wasn't intentionally trying to leave you," she reasoned. "She was just trying to give you your best chance at life."

"And what a better life this is. I'm trapped among muggles all my life, looking to school for salvation, and my origins are a mystery. I'd have rather grown up in this world, with parents, knowing exactly who I am."

"Then, you'd probably hate me. We'd be like a Gryffindor and Slytherin should be."

"I'm sorry to say, it'd be a sacrifice I'd be willing to take. Surely, you'd rather have your two loving parents back if it meant losing our friendship." Tom reasoned. He secretly wished in the deepest region of his heart for two doting parents, even if it meant not ever meeting Frankie. Parents who would see him off to the train every school year and welcome him home for Christmas holidays. Parents who cared about his grades more than he did and got mad if he stayed out late without one hell of an explanation. A real family that cared about him.

"I guess you’re right…" she replied, although she really didn't think she actually felt the same. He was actually opening up for the first time ever, believe it or not. Even to her, he never talked about his past. Apparently spending his whole life as an orphan he always acted like he didn't have one. Frankie always felt like she was blathering on about her problems and he was always absorbing them and giving her advice. Well, now it was her turn. "What about your father?"

"He abandoned her, that's all I know. Mrs. Cole told me that he wasn't there when my mother showed up at the orphanage doorstep," Tom explained, with a small painful cringe. It was even more of a sensitive area to talk about, but having actually dived into Frankie's memories and seeing her parent's death, he powered through it. "That's why she showed up in the first place. She had it all planned out..."

"Was she a witch?"

"I doubt it…"

Frankie could sense that he didn't want to talk about the subject further and she was content with the information he had bestowed upon her. She'd let it go for now and change to a lighter subject. She revealed a tin she was hiding in her winter coat and presented it to him, "I got you something for Valentine's Day."

"Oh god, are you trying to drug me? I thought at least you would be safe."

"No, they aren't drugged. They aren't even chocolate, actually." Frankie assured, quickly, taking his joke a little too seriously.

Tom opened the tin to find it filled with pale yellow, powered sugar-coated lumps, rather than chocolate, "Crystallised Pineapple?"

"Chocolate was a little sketchy and I thought this was better for us."

"Thank you." Tom replied, half-smiling. It was so much better and he was so much better. It had felt sort of good telling someone about his feelings towards his parents after all these years. "Was this what you were hiding in Hogsmeade?"

"Of course. What other reason would I have to hide something from you?"

"I don't know you could have a fellow you haven't told me about."

"Don't be silly."

Just then it was like a cold wave washed over Tom and not one of relief for the fact Frankie did not have feelings for anyone yet. It was a presence of a third person amongst them. It was a person with a distinguishable arrogant air that Tom was able sense within a fifty-mile radius.

"Ah, my little doll, I was just looking for you." Malfoy grinned, as if he didn't know exactly where Frankie would be. Tom and Frankie both simultaneously recoiled at the horrid nickname.

"Go away, Malfoy." Tom hissed, immediately. The uplifted mood Frankie had brought him was gone in half a second and it was all because of him.

"Ah, Tom. Come to see Frankie confess her undying love for me," Malfoy beamed, with a strange amount of confidence. "Or perhaps have me steal away her first kiss."

"What are you going on about?" Tom demanded.

"Thanks to a bribe placed to a house elf, my Valentine's Day chocolate was eaten by Frankie from the house table chocolate."

"I didn't eat any of that chocolate, though. I haven't had a piece all day." Frankie replied. It's not like she could've eaten the house table chocolate even if she wanted to, the Gryffindor boys had pretty much eaten all of it.

"How stupid do you think she is, Malfoy?"

"That bloody elf said that it saw her consume it. I gave it her description!"

"There's more than one Gryffindor with hazel locks you know." Tom laughed, with a smug, haughty smile. Malfoy's expression went blank as he realized who Tom was talking about…

"Oh god—"

"Abraxas…"

Quin had appeared from nowhere. He was out-of-breath and looking at Malfoy rather flushed. Tom and Frankie stared at the two and a really awkward silence was produced between the four. Then, suddenly, Quin sprung at Malfoy and landed a steamy kiss on his lips. Frankie gasped in shock, Tom let out a dry chuckle, while Malfoy was trying to shove Quin away and spit on the grass at the same time.

"At times like these I wish I wasn't too poor to afford a camera." Tom stated, trying to keep concealing his feelings and keep a straight face. However, the sight of one of his worst enemies trying to kiss another one of his worst enemies was the disturbing sight that was also so strangely hilarious he could not contain himself.

She shouldn't have been laughing with him. She should have been trying to convince him to take Quin to the hospital wing or do something to help him. However, after the initial shock faded, she was on the verge of hysterics as well. Frankie was suppressing giggles while Tom said things like, "Someone call _The_ _Daily Prophet_!" as they watched Malfoy and Quin run around in circles.

It was nice to know, after his failure with the Boggart, he actually could find something amusing in this life.


	28. The Return of Erised

Unfortunately, Quin's love for Malfoy faded fast. He couldn't even remember what had happened. But, thankfully, the memories would stick with Tom and Frankie for a very long time. For months they gave each other random knowing looks in Potions when Quin said or did something. It was a fun little secret they shared. Although, Tom had to fight to keep his straight emotionless face when he thought about it. Sometimes in Slytherin dorms, he’d just glance over at Malfoy for a moment and start cackling. It frightened the other boys a lot. Their leader in such a state was a terrifying sight to behold, but they would not dare ask him what was the matter with him. Unless they wanted to end up ‘falling’ off a moving staircase or have some other cruel accident befall them. It was soon June once again and spring time was slowly starting to get ready for summer. However, it also meant it was exam time at Hogwarts. So, instead of getting excited for summer, everyone was getting stressed for tests.

Well, almost everyone.

Tom and Frankie were probably the only two in the school that held no joy about the summer holiday. It meant they'd have to go back to the orphanage. So, they threw themselves into studying, soaking in the magic while they could before their skills were left to dust over the summer. They would often study at the tree by the lake, their normal spot. It was a lot more secluded and quiet then the library or the Great Hall. Also, it was probably the only place they could actually study together.

"I can never remember. What year was the Goblin rebellion first formed?" Frankie asked. I was an afternoon after lessons and the two were sitting surrounded by various textbooks.

"Idiot, you should know this by now," Tom sighed, sounding slightly agitated. It was something they had learned a while ago, but she still should have been able to easily remember it. "All you have to do is remember it was formed in the year 627."

"The Goblin rebellion in 627." she chimed, in a singsong sort of voice. Tom had not wanted to admit what made it so easy to remember was that it rhymed, so he had chosen his words carefully. She had still figured it out though.

"Yes, do you think you can remember that?"

"I've got it now."

"You're completely hopeless at this stuff. You know that?" Tom sighed, sounding as though he was giving up on her.

"I am not." Frankie protested, with a small pout. He tried not to crack a small smile at her adorable, childish frustration. It was truly fun to tease her.

"We shall see. Hopefully, I won't have to be going here alone next year…" Tom added. He really was just teasing her. He actually considered Frankie to be one of the only intelligent beings he knew, other than the teachers, and the only candidate for Head Girl in the near future.

They were in a world of their own for a moment, then Tom suddenly backed away from her and glared down the path behind them. Someone was coming. As always when there was another person around, Tom could sense their presence and had to put up his guard immediately. However, he soon realized this person was no one of power or influence, or a fellow classmate who could tell the year of their affair. He need not ever worry about Professor Dumbledore.

"Hello, sir. Out for a walk?" Frankie smiled, greeting him with politeness as he walked up to them.

"I've just been to see Ogg, actually. He wanted me to give this to you." Dumbledore smiled back. He took out a folded piece paper from his robes and handed it to her. She opened the note and started reading Ogg's messy script,

_“Hello Frankie,_

_How have you been? It's been a while since you came down to see me. Nowadays, it's just Hagrid. I suppose you’re busy studying for exams right now, but Hagrid left your Monster Book of Monsters over here a couple days ago. According to Kettleburn, you'll find it very useful on your Care of Magical Creatures exam. It apparently has almost all the creatures you'll see on the test. You'll have to come around 11 or so, I've got some business in the forest to take care of and it won't get through with till then. I know it'll be after hours, but Pringle won't catch you._

_-Ogg”_

Frankie had never been out past after hours before, besides the Halloween contests. She was a little worried about being caught Pringle, despite what Ogg wrote, Rodger said that he caned students he found out of bed after hours. Even though he wasn't very good at catching students, he still had to have caught some, surely. She'd have to devise some sort of clever plan, with some smart experts. Tom definitely wouldn't condone sneaking out after hours, nor had he certainly ever done it before. She'd need to go to someone with experience…

"Thank you, sir."

"It was no trouble." Dumbledore replied. He eyed Tom and the books, as if he was just noticing their presence with her. "How are your studying efforts going? I sure hope the Transfiguration exam isn't giving you too much trouble."

"It's been a piece of cake." Tom answered, for both of them. Studying wasn't really that hard, but even it was, he wasn't about to admit it to Dumbledore.

"Well, I'm glad to hear." Dumbledore remarked. "You should be getting to supper soon, you two. Don't stay out to long."

They did as they were told. They cleaned up their books quickly and walked back up to the castle. The two separated at the entrance to the Great Hall and let the flow of students take them to their respective house tables. Almost everyone was studying while they were eating, books shoved between the dishes and the goblets. The fifth years were especially intense about it. Frankie looked over at the many fifth years cramming for O.W.L.S with very distressed and panicked expressions, thinking on how lucky she was that she didn't have to worry about them for another two years. Unlike the others, she didn't re-open any of her textbooks to continue studying. She felt pretty prepared for her exams. Tomorrow she had Herbology and Potions, which she and Tom had studied especially well since they were classes they had together. Now, there was only one thing she really needed help with…

Frankie got up from her seat and walked down to the end of Gryffindor table. That's where he was, sitting amongst the other seventh year boys, Rodger Day. The king of pranks and rule breaking, he'd know for sure. She walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder.

"I need your help." Frankie stated, trying to sound cold and emotionless, not like she wanted something. She did not feel proud in this moment, she felt like a five year old having to ask her older brother to go beat some boys up for her. But she didn't want to have to turn to Quin and Aidan. That'd feel even worst.

"If it's studying for finals, you're better off getting Alice, because—"

"Any sane person would not come to you for studying advice, Day," she snapped. "I need you to get me out after hours."

"Look at my Squirt. Finally taking some of her mentor's advice and breaking the rules. What's the occasion?" he beamed, like some kind of proud father bragging about his kid.

"I need to speak to Ogg and the only time I can do so is after hours." Frankie explained.

"Don't worry. I can take you there." Rodger smiled, mischievously. Frankie sighed and ran back to her seat. A night out with Rodger Day. She could already tell this was going to be an ordeal.

It wasn't too late after hours, for Rodger. Seventh years were allowed out until ten-thirty. However, for Frankie, it was three hours after she could be out. Third years were only allowed out till eight o'clock. Frankie arrived in the crowded common room a few minutes before eleven. Usually it would have been nearly empty, however, since it was night before exams the late night crammers were everywhere. Just as she was walking down the girl's stairs, Quin and Aidan just happened to be walking down the other. They all stared each other for a moment. How long had it been since they had spoken? Rodger started calling Frankie's name by the portrait hole and she started to walk towards him. She was almost free when Quin unexpectedly grabbed the sleeve of her jumper.

"Where you going?" Quin asked, sounding concerned. His concerned tone just made her angrier. He wasn't allowed to care. She still wasn't talking to him, yet he always tried to act as if everything were normal.

"None of your business." Frankie hissed back, as she very intentionally turned away from him.

"You tell him, Squirt. Now, let's roll." Rodger remarked, quickly grabbing her hand and pulling her through the portrait hole.

They ran through dimming corridors and out through the back, by the greenhouses. Pringle usually was patrolling the third floor around this time, according to Rodger. They arrived on Ogg's lit cabin porch a few minutes later and knocked on the door. The door flew open immediately.

"Frankie and Rodger, what a surprise." Ogg smiled, with a wave. Thankfully, he did not sound the least bit bothered.

"Sorry, Ogg. I'm not all that good at sneaking around and I needed some help. Is it okay that I brought him?"

"I suppose it's fine since he's not a third year in Care of Magical Creatures." He stepped aside, letting Frankie and Rodger into the room.

"I dropped that class last year after Kettleburn almost killed me," Rodger sighed, sinking down in one of Ogg's hard wood chairs. Frankie and Ogg gave him judging looks, questioning whether or not he was serious. "I don't mean like usual. Believe me, it was _really_ near death this time."

"It wouldn't really matter if you were still in it anyway. One, your exam would surely be much harder than a third years. Two, I'm pretty sure you've been mentally checked out for weeks now."

"Months, Ogg. It's the curse of the seventh year." Rodger corrected. He tipped his chair and leaned back. Apparently not doing anything made you very tired.

"Anyway, Frankie, I spoke to Professor Kettleburn. There's going to be a whole section on Blast-Ended Skrewts on the exam." said Ogg, handing her the book.

"Really?" Frankie exclaimed, turning to the pages about them immediately.

"Hippogriffs too." He filled the kettle with water and they drank tea, while he went over a few more details of the exam. It was assuring to know what she should be studying, Kettleburn was so unpredictable. He might even completely change it the second they're about to take it, for all she knew. That sounded very like him, hopefully, he would just stick to what he had now.

Once she was through getting the details, Rodger and her said their goodbyes and set off towards the castle. They entered to find Pringle combing the area with his lantern set high and bright. Rodger grabbed her and they ducked behind a pillar just before he shone his lantern upon the spot she was standing.

"Who's there? Show yourself!"

He must have caught a slight glimpse of her, she didn't move fast enough.

"Go Squirt. I'll take the heat. My rep is already tarnished." Rodger whispered, as he carefully peered around the corner. Pringle was drawing nearer, glaring at the perimeter as he swept the area in light.

"I'm not going to just leave you." she whispered. However, it was too late. Rodger Day had already walked out to take the heat. He grinned back at her and all she saw was a foolish soldier who had fallen on his sword for her.

Idiot…

They were right in front of the staircase so she couldn't get back up to the dorms. She ran into the nearest classroom on the wall and pressed her ear against the door waiting for them to leave. She could hear him yell at Rodger to get back to bed and that he'd deal with him in the morning. However, it didn't sound like Pringle was going up with him. That glimpse was not of Rodger, his eyes may have been old but there was no mistaking that long flowing hair. She stepped away from the door. If she sank deeper into the classroom there was a less likely chance she would be heard. Frankie turned around to find herself staring back.

She gasped, almost screamed, if she hadn't covered her mouth. There was a large mirror standing in the center of the classroom. It clearly did not look like it belonged with the many empty chairs and desks pushed up against the wall. And when she looked into the mirror, she saw an image did not belong as well.

The mirror didn't just show her own reflection staring back.

"Mum… Dad…" She was gazing intently at the two standing behind her reflection. She turned around, but of course they were not actually there.

She sat, gazing at the mirror for a long time, forgetting completely that she was supposed to be going back to her common room. Frankie only snapped out of her gaze when she heard someone opening the door. It must have been Pringle. She was going to be caught. But to her surprise, when the door was opened, it was not Pringle who opened it. It was Dumbledore. He did not look angry to see that she was out of bed, but instead had his usual calm expression.

"I'm sorry, sir. I—"

"There's no need to apologize," Dumbledore replied. He walked over to the place where she was sitting and looked down at her, rather than at the cryptic mirror. "I see you have discovered the Mirror of Erised."

"The Mirror of Erised?" She had never come across it in her readings before. Frankie had read pretty much everything she could find about Hogwarts and none of the books had ever said anything about a mystery mirror in an unused classroom.

"It is a mirror that shows the deepest and most desperate desire of one's heart," Dumbledore answered, as if it were something simple rather than something intriguing and thought provoking. Frankie had a billion questions on her face, but he ignored her curious gaze and offered her a hand up, "Come now, we'd best be off to bed. It's best not to dawdle on such a thing…"

What a peculiar thing it was, though. She was obviously entranced by it, who wouldn't be? Frankie glanced into the mirror once more as they were leaving; it was the last chance she'd probably ever get to see her parents standing beside her. Then she noticed something.

They were not alone.

A tall girl with buttery blonde locks peeked out from behind Frankie's father and was staring at her with her electric blue eyes. While her mother, concealed someone who would not dare show anything other than their long bony fingers and a small tuft of dark black hair. She did not get to see who they were, but she knew they had been there.

She followed Dumbledore out of the classroom and to assure she would not be able to return he locked the classroom behind them.

Frankie didn't get much sleep that night. It wasn't because she stayed up after hours or was nervous about her exams. It was what she saw in the mirror that was keeping her up. Even after all this time, did she really long to be with her parents that much? And the two unknown people behind them, who were they really? How could she desire to be with them, if she didn't even know who they were?

The next morning, she was half-asleep walking down to breakfast. She wasn't exactly a morning person in the first place and today there was the added fact she had been up till two in the morning. This morning, after breakfast, was the Potions exam. The Potions exam was taken in groups consisting of the people you sit next to. Unfortunately, Professor Slughorn always put her next to Quin and Tom. The two worked fine separately, but together they barely got any work done. Frankie used Dylan as a crutch, while they made their way to Potions. Tom and Quin were already sitting there when she arrived. Tom gave her a questionable look, while Quin looked away. She could barely keep her eyes open as the class started and they listened to Slughorn give instructions. Finally, she could bare it no longer and slumped onto Tom's shoulder.

"Wake up, before Slughorn sees you." Tom whispered, trying to shake her off his shoulder.

"I'm too tired."

"You aren't usually like this, what did you do last night?"

"I stayed out after hours with Rodger and found a magical mirror in an unused classroom." Frankie sighed, dreamily. She was nearly asleep, clearly unable to remember she was actually talking to someone, because anyone else would've thought she was completely crazy.

"What?" Tom would’ve thought her talking tired gibberish, but he knew that mirror. He had encountered the mirror in an unused classroom their first year. It showed him his future with Frankie and was his ultimate deciding factor about keeping her by his side. "Was it a big mirror with weird scripture around the frame?"

"Yes," Frankie replied, with a yawn. "Dumbledore caught me though."

"Did you get in trouble?"

"No."

"Then, what happened?"

"He told me that the mirror shows the deepest desires in your heart..."

Tom went silent after hearing that. When he looked in the mirror, he had thought it had showed him the future, but apparently he was wrong. His future with Frankie, the power, the immortality. It was not all a sure thing, anymore, just the desires of his heart.

"What did you see?" Tom asked, desperately. He needed to know the answer. What did she see in that mirror? Was it the same as what he saw, or did she desire something different than he did?

However, her desires were lost in a peaceful slumber.


	29. A Summer Nightmare

Exams were eventually over and done with and both Frankie and Tom had passed, with mostly "Exceeds Expectations". Frankie had actually woken up and really turned it around in their Potions final, miraculously. They ended up doing well. However, once she was fully awake, she wouldn't dare to ever mention what she saw when she looked into the Mirror of Erised. They might’ve been close, but there was no way she could tell him something like that in her right mind. Tom didn't press on the subject too much, anyway. He didn't even want to think about that mirror again, now that he knew exactly what it was. It had been much to revealing.

Now, the two mentally and physically braced themselves for yet another summer at Wool's Orphanage. Although, it was merely to be the summer leading up to their fourth year. Nothing really seemed too have changed when they returned, at least not at first. The older kids still secretly hated them, remembering the old days of constant ‘cursing’, while Mrs. Cole was still constantly scolding them for various incidents and strange happenings they weren't even causing since they couldn't do magic. A new happening she enjoyed scolding Frankie for was the ‘parade’ of owls flying through all the orphanage windows,

" _You're lying! Who sends mail by owls_ _?"_

Mrs. Cole was just being overdramatic, like usual. It was really only one owl who was frequently flying in to the orphanage. Dylan had badgered Frankie for the address to the orphanage, so they could keep in touch this summer. Frankie was always sitting calmly on the playroom floor, surrounded with small kids petting the owl on her lap, reading a letter. No ruckus or mayhem in the scene, despite Mrs. Cole’s incessant need to turn them into the bad guys. Meanwhile Tom would be sitting slightly off to the side in the only adult chair, reading the nothing-of-interest book and ready to retort Mrs. Cole on Frankie's behalf. When they weren’t fighting off that wretched women, Frankie and Tom would sit at the small table in the garden and on Sundays they'd sneak off on walks around London. Everything was painfully normal, completely uneventful,

Then an east wind started blowing.

It was nearing midnight on a cool, mid-summer night. Tom was sitting on his bed reading one of his various textbooks in the dim light, when he heard someone knocking on his bedroom door. He sighed and reluctantly went to go answer it. There was only one person it could possibly be at this hour. Surely enough, there Frankie stood in his doorway. Her long hair was messy and knotted, her hazel eyes drooped and tired. She was holding the white rabbit, Rue, tight to her chest.

"What is it?" Tom asked, although he had an idea. This was not the first time she showed up at an unreasonable hour of the night. It was a constant occurrence since day one. One time, in her first year at the orphanage, she came to his room at midnight just because she couldn’t sleep and wanted to play Scrabble. However, nowadays, this was much more of an unhappy affair. "Another nightmare?"

She nodded, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Ever since the summer began, she had been having terrifying nightmares. She wouldn't tell him what they were about, but he had a hunch that it was probably about what Dumbledore had showed them in the Pensive. Now that they were back in London, the memories must have been starting to get to her more than they had at school. Her old house was not far and they often passed it on their Sunday walks.

Frankie had finally finished rubbing all the sleep from her eyes and decided to suddenly dive under his bed. Tom would've thought she was still half asleep if they hadn't been doing this all summer. He merely returned to the top of his bed and waited for her to resurface with what she was looking for. She returned to his side seconds later with the _Monster Book of Monsters_ in hand.

"What will it be tonight?" Tom sighed, stroking the spine of the book and undoing the buckle. They would start on a random page, then skip to the beginning and read properly. It was a weird system, but not highly unreasonable. She didn't speak, but flipped through the book and opened to the page on Thestrals. "Thestrals, again?"

"I like Thestrals, though," Frankie smiled, as she hugged her knees tightly together. Tom could not see them, but according to Frankie, they were what pulled the invisible carriages at school and sometimes she goes out to the forest with Ogg and feeds them. Despite the fact that they were in the _Monster Book of Monsters_ in the first place, they were actually kind and gentle. "They're not as bad as everyone makes them out to be. They're just a bit misunderstood."

He began to read on about things like Acromantulas and Porlocks. His voice was apparently somewhat calming to her, rather than cold, harsh, and murderous. Tom was tired, but he endured it for her sake. Frankie eventually fell asleep. She usually was still awake by the time they finished and was able to walk back to her room, but today she had fallen asleep before they even hit Norwegian Ridgebacks. She lay curled up beside him. He wasn't sure if he should wake her or not. Of course, if he let her sleep there was always the risk of Mrs. Cole finding out and the start of filthy gossip around the orphanage. They were no longer kids. They both were fourteen, soon to be fifteen, and would be starting their fourth year at Hogwarts in a matter of months.

He ended up covering his blanket over her and sat on the floor. He didn't really care what the muggles thought, but it was a precaution to make sure she was not given the wrong idea as well.

Night suddenly turned to day and soon Frankie woke up from sleeping. She looked around rapidly, taking a second to realize she wasn't in her room. She was still in Tom's room on his bed, while Tom sat on the ground, leaning against it.

"You could have woken me up, you know." Frankie yawned, rubbing the new sleep from her eyes.

"It's not my fault you wouldn't wake up." Tom lied, sounding rather defensive. "You sleep like a rock."

"We better get going. It's a showing day." Showing days were days where several couples were allowed to come in without prior appointment to look at the children. It was like an open house of human misery for the unadoptable, like Frankie and Tom.

"After fourteen years stuck in this orphanage, I really don't think I need to go." She gave him a pleading look, but he wasn't about to go to another one of these things. Even before his powers started emerge, no one had wanted him. It wasn't going to change if he went downstairs, and by this point, he really didn't want it to. "I'm not going."

"Mrs. Cole is going to kill you." Frankie reasoned. Last year a little boy hadn't shown up, apparently he had ‘accidentally’ sliced his hand open with the letter opener. He was now currently six feet under from starvation.

"I'd quite like to see the bitch try."

It looked like she'd have to endure this torture fest alone. Frankie sighed and walked back to her room to get ready. She got dressed in one of her nicer looking outfits, a pale pink, pointed-flat collar dress with long cuffed sleeves. Dylan had given it to her in this year's "Frankie's-still-an-orphan-let's-give-her-all-our-clothes" event. They were nicer hand-me-downs then the ones she got from the orphanage. She brushed her hair and tried to look as presentable as she could for a girl who just woke up. She wasn't expecting to get adopted. Most people were looking for young little kids nowadays. Frankie had been just a little over the age when she arrived and, now that she was fourteen, it was pretty much just waiting for eighteen when they could no longer legally detain her here. Looking nice was just part of the show.

After brushing her teeth and one last hair check in bathroom mirror, she headed downstairs to find it empty except for the voices of Mrs. Cole and a man. Frankie froze like a statue on the stairs. If she went all the way down and interrupted them, she'd be in trouble. Instead she stayed silently on the stairs, slightly watching them converse.

"Are there any more kids I can look at? Maybe a little bit older." the man asked. He wasn't the usual type of person you would expect to find here. Aside from the strange desire for an older child, the man was wearing a very nice tailored suit and looked to be in his early thirties. His wife wasn't with him either, he was alone.

"Um…" Mrs. Cole stalled, wondering if she would even dare mention the two absent teenagers. Of course, the decision was made for her as the man noticed Frankie leaning on the banister, watching them. The man's face instantly lit up when he saw her, while Mrs. Cole's face grimaced. She mouthed at Frankie too get down and she had no choice but to run to the bottom to meet with him.

"Frankie Dickson?" the man exclaimed, sounding a little unsure.

"Yes, that's me. Good day, sir." she smiled, giving a small curtsy. Then, she paused. He had just said her name. She was just listening in on their conversation and Mrs. Cole hadn't mentioned it, of course. How did he know it?

"Don't you remember me?"

"I'm sorry, sir. I can't say that I do."

"That'll be the brain damage, I should've known. I diagnosed you." the man remarked, with a small grin. Frankie looked at him confused. Brain damage? She couldn't remember a lot of things from the past, but she never considered it to be that drastic. Who was this man? "I guess that means I have to re-introduce myself. I'm Dr. Harry Fields. I was your doctor after the accident."

"My doctor?"

"Yes, your doctor. Hello again."

"What are you doing here then, doctor?" she asked, in attempt to make conversation and try to look as if she wasn't eavesdropping. Why else would a man be at an orphanage?

"I've always wanted a child, sadly you need a wife for that and I haven't been able to get one of those. So, I've decided to adopt." Dr. Fields explained. Mrs. Cole immediately straightened her posture as if it weren't straight enough already and did her best smile. Frankie rolled her eyes. Single, handsome, rich man. Time to be a desperate tramp.

"A marvelous decision. I hope that any child you pick will be able to grow up in a better environment and live a happy life." Frankie smiled, giving the perfect answer. Orphans were very good actors, being who they were not. The 'perfect' little child. They even were forced to rehearse lines. It's what got them adopted.

"Why thank you," Dr. Field smiled, obliviously unaware of how insincere and fake her words had been. "Tell me, are you happy here?"

"Here? Never. Anywhere else? Always…" she admitted, truthfully. She was going way off script and of course that wasn't the greatest idea in front of Mrs. Cole. She shot Frankie a vicious glare for her truth, silently insinuating she would pay for it later, but Dr. Fields looked at her with sorrow and pity. "Six years here and I've only had one person that makes it somewhat bearable."

"Have you really been here for six years now? You've been trapped here for much too long…" he added. She had never seen someone look at her with so much pity before. Of course, even though she couldn't remember him, he had cared for her for an entire year. He had some right to look at her like that and continue caring. Then, he suddenly took Frankie's hand. "Mrs. Cole, I've decided I want to adopt Frankie."

Even though there was over twenty screaming kids in the next room, everything went silent.

"I'm—afraid you can't adopt her, Dr. Fields. Frankie goes to a boarding school in Scotland with another—"

"It's all right. I'll take care of it."

"But she'll be gone most of the—"

"It won't be a problem." he replied, refusing to take no for an answer. You could see it in his eyes that he was absolutely certain of this. He was going to save her from enduring anymore pain. Little did he know how much he was actually the cause of it. Her life had been far from perfect, but everything that was perfect in her life required her for her to stay in this awful place. By taking Frankie away from the orphanage, it meant her life was over.

"I'll have the papers ready by tomorrow." Mrs. Cole answered, having no choice but to give up. She really didn't want Frankie to be adopted. It was better to have her stay here and rot, rather than have a chance at a good life with a rich and handsome doctor. Not to mention, she was the only thing holding the reins of Satan’s hell spawn. She left and Tom would go back to hanging bunny rabbits and terrorizing children half to death. However, then she looked over at Frankie's constrained expression of hidden horror and grew a Cheshire Cat grin.

_This might not be such a bad thing after all…_

"Fantastic…"Frankie remarked, clutching her hands into fists. Her mind was still processing what had just happened. The whole room was spinning and the panic alarm in her mind had started ringing so loud it was all that she could hear.

She had just got adopted…

"Isn't it though? You won't have to suffer here any longer. I'll be back for you in the morning." he smiled, with a small wave. Mrs. Cole escorted him to the door and he left just like that. She shut the door and shuffled past Frankie towards the kitchen.

"Mrs. Cole, you can't do this…" Frankie remarked, following behind her. She sounded desperate and she certainly was. Certainly, Mrs. Cole could stop all of this. She just had too.

"Do you know how many kids want what just got dropped in your ungrateful lap?" Mrs. Cole answered, huffily. She took a glass out of the cupboard and grabbed a bottle of gin from the highest shelf. "Besides, we're lucky a kid like you even got adopted at all. Not most kids get adopted at fourteen, especially not pain in the asses like you."

"I don't want to go."

"You don't really have a choice. This is an orphanage, after all."

"But, what about Hogwarts? He won't be able to take me." Frankie protested. Mrs. Cole frowned at the mention of the name. She thought Tom and Frankie were just joking when they said that was the name of their school, clearly Dumbledore had told her something different.

"Well, if he won't be able to take you, then I guess you'll just have to drop out," Mrs. Cole scoffed. Once Frankie left she could drop the cold mop of an attitude and start celebrating the fact she got one problem out of the way. "Now, go upstairs and start packing your things."

Frankie stormed up the stairs, as she was told. She didn't have a choice. How was she supposed to tell that man that she went to a wizard school? He wouldn't believe her even if she told him. He'd probably re-admit her to the hospital, or worst, send her to the asylum. She kicked the wall with surprising force. Then she kicked it again, and again, and again…

"What's going on?" Tom asked, emerging from his room to see what the fuss was. He could hear her from all the way inside. The little ones could scream to the top of their lungs, but no other kid had the nerve to kick actually kick the structure of the orphanage. Frankie walked right past him to her room and slammed the door behind her. She fell onto the floor, blocking the door from any further entrance.

_Don't let him in..._

She just couldn't tell Tom, not yet. She was still processing it herself. How was she supposed to tell him that she had just been adopted? He was trying to open the door, but she wouldn't give in. Eventually he stopped wiggling the door knob and she heard him slam the door to his own room shut. He was angry. Good. Frankie would've rather had him angry at her, having him never want to see her again. If she cut what tied her to this place now, it'd make it slightly easier to leave.

Now, that he had given up, Frankie moved over to her bed. It wasn't like a good bed, one that you could hide under the covers, curl up into a ball and cry in. However, it was the best she had at the moment. Tom came in a few minutes later, regardless of the fact she just flat out ignored him and tried to shut him out. Acting angry was just a ruse, mostly. There was something wrong and she was going to tell him.

"You're not as pretty when you cry…" he remarked, as he shut the door behind him. In his younger years, he always found pleasure in watching the girls he tormented cry for the mothers they no longer had, or the pain he inflicted. However, he discovered that she was not the same, seeing her cry was like was like watching light slowly dying out. It was strangely depressing. Frankie hadn't seemed too noticed until Tom had mentioned it, but tears were leaking out of her eyes. She wasn't able to hold them back this time. She was losing not only her best friend and the friends she had made, but the only place they had ever considered home. "Tell me what's going on."

"I won't be returning to Hogwarts."

"Why not?" Tom asked, surprisingly maintaining a calm voice.

"I've been adopted," Frankie answered, sniffling. "I don't have a choice and I doubt he's going to believe that I go to a wizarding school."

Tom's face was weirdly expressionless. Frankie thought that he'd have some sort of reaction, most likely anger. Then he suddenly grabbed her wrist and pulled her out of the room. They ran into his room and he slammed the door behind them. Tom grabbed his trunk out from under his bed and started throwing in whatever he could find in his room that was not already in there.

"What are you doing?"

"Packing, what else does it look like?"

"Why? I'm the one who—"

"I will not allow you to leave here with some muggle," Tom replied, sounding furious. "You promised me that the day we left this place that we would leave it together."

"I know but—"

"I'm not letting you leave," he repeated, with a tone of finality. He sounded even more decisive then when Dr. Fields said he wanted to adopt her. "If you're being forced to leave, we'll just run."

"Where are we supposed to go?"

"We're wizards. We'll be fine."

"We're underage wizards we won't be able to use our magic." Frankie argued. He was being irrational. She knew he wouldn't take it too well, but she didn't think he'd react like this. It was a crazy idea.

"We just need a place to stay until school starts." Tom added, not listening to her remark about them being underage. She obviously still looked skeptic, so he stopped his angry tossing of supplies and held out his pinky, “You promised, remember? Nobody breaks deals with me.”

He didn't really have a plan other than running. Not of where to go, how they would survive. She knew that. However, unless she wanted to spend her life as some normal muggle girl and never see her friends or Hogwarts ever again, it was her best and only option. Frankie returned to her room and started to pack all her belongings into her trunk. Then, a few minutes later, she met Tom at the top of the stairs. Sadly, Mrs. Cole was not yet drunk enough not to immediately notice the two as they clunked down the stairs with their luggage.

"Where do you two think you're going?" Mrs. Cole asked, getting up from the kitchen table to stop them.

"Anywhere else, but here." Tom replied, trying to go past her to get to the door.

"No you're not!" Mrs. Cole yelled back, making a surprisingly good roadblock for a thin, slightly inebriated woman. "Dr. Fields is coming to get Frankie tomorrow and you will be staying here until school starts again."

"You can't stop us." Tom hissed. He took out his wand and pointed it towards her neck. Hopefully, the mere look of his wand could intimidate her. He couldn't actually use it, but she didn't know that. She didn't even know what it was, but sensed the dangerous air and backed out of the way of the pair. "We'll be going now."

They walked out of Wool's Orphanage for the final time. Even though they had absolutely no idea where they were going, and only had useless magic wands and pockets full of wizard money,

They finally had their freedom and that was more than enough.


	30. Where to Go? A Meeting in Diagon Alley

"Where are we going?" Frankie asked Tom, as they walked down the street together, ignoring the lingering stares from the orphanage windows. Surely, he had some idea. However, she was still following behind Tom like a happy puppy, regardless of whether or not he had actually developed a plan yet. When she had shut down and gave up, he had stepped up and taken action. Even though he was probably still trying to figure out where they were going to go and how they were going to survive on their own for the rest of the summer, Frankie found that she really didn’t care anymore. Now, that they were out of that suffocating building, she was starting to see this as more an adventure. All that mattered was Tom stayed with her and, finally, they were both free of that awful place.

“I have a place in mind…" Tom answered, hesitantly. It was hard to think after all that happened in the past few minutes. Although, he had always dreamed of being free of the orphanage he never thought it would be this sudden and he wouldn’t have anything ready for an independent life. The two walked a few blocks, until they arrived at a broken down house that they knew all too well. Frankie's old house. He knew she wouldn't like it, but it was the only place he could think of on such short notice. Frankie completely froze at the sight of the house. They tried to avoid the place, ever since she had remembered what happened. On their walks, they'd move to the other side of the street, speed up ever so slightly and keep their heads down.

"No. Absolutely not."

"It's either this or on the streets," Tom reasoned. She shook her head, profusely, and refused to look him in the eye. He sighed and opened the gate, to trudge on without her. She would follow eventually, if not now. Where else did she have to go? It was either go back to the orphanage and get adopted, or stay in the house of her nightmares with him. "I swear it'll only be for a few nights, until I can find us someplace better."

Frankie reluctantly began to follow behind him, in silence. He sighed and grabbed her hand as they both walked to the door of the house. They expected to see a charcoaled mess, considering the last time they saw the inside it was on fire. However, when they opened the door they merely saw an old, dusty house. There was slight scattered debris from a roof slowly falling apart, but other than that, it was just like her parents had left it. Tom started to look around, while Frankie just stood in frozen in the doorway.

She gazed up at the top of the stairs, as if hoping to once again see her six year old self standing there. Of course she had been long, long gone. Curiously, Frankie walked up the stairs and down the hall, to her parent's old room. She had never been allowed in there and she always imagined what it looked like, especially since she found out about them being wizards. What kind of magic treasures from the wizarding world had they hid in there?

There was a slight disappointment when she opened the door to find a normal room. The room contained a small bed, neatly made, one straight-backed velvet chair next to a bureau with a lovely framed mirror, and windows with long curtains to shut the world out. There were no moving pictures on the wall, or old, hardening, magic candy on the bedside table.

She opened the drawer of the bedside table, looking for something, anything. In the drawer were pictures that were not on the wall. None of them were normal pictures, they all were moving inside their square shapes. The one on very top of the scatter of pictures was just like the one she had taken with Tom. Frankie opened her locket to compare them and they were in the exact same spot. They looked a bit older then she and Tom were, around seventeen or eighteen, and were smiling dancing around in circles. Her mom looked identical to her; she was even wearing the same white dress she had left her. Beneath that were several pictures of them at Hogwarts, her mother scowling at a camera and trying to focus on a book, her dad in action as a Quidditch Keeper, them with Dumbledore and Ogg making some kind of weird hand gesture and mouthing something lost by time. Under those, were some pictures of her father during the tasks of the Triwizard Tournament. Fighting off something wicked, a group picture of him with the champions from other schools, candid shots from the victory parties after the tasks, there was even one of her parents at the Yule Ball. Her father was in dress robes and her mother was in a beautiful gown, looking like the perfect prince and princess.

They looked so happy.

Beneath all the pictures was a shiny golden key. Frankie looked around the room for something that the key might open. The trunk at the end of the bed was most likely it. She walked over to the trunk and tried to open it,

_Click!_

The trunk popped opened to reveal more items from her parent's wizarding past they had kept hidden away. Her father's Quidditch Captain's badge was sitting cozily next to her mother's Head Girl badge. There was another moving photograph of her parents, with a man, a woman, a little girl and a little boy she didn't recognize, in a town she had never seen before. She turned it around and on the back read,

_Elizabeth, Francis, Dalagof, Piper, Diana and Alastor._

The last item was her mother's dress she had worn to the Yule ball. She was sitting on the ground holding it up against her when Tom finally found her.

"Was this your parent's room?" he asked, looking around at the items she had spread across the floor. She nodded silently, as she started to pick up the items and put them back in the trunk. "You should take them. After all, once we leave, we probably won't be coming back."

"Yes…" Frankie replied. She ran out and re-appeared a few minutes late with her own trunk. She put everything she had found inside and shut it once more. All her mother's old clothes, the badges, the pictures, were soon safely tucked away. She need not ever worry about the space she was taking up. After first year's trunk closing trouble, second year she asked Dumbledore to cast an Undetectable Extension Charm on her trunk. Now, it was much bigger on the inside.

Frankie and Tom were walking out of her parent's room when she remembered the room she had passed by that she still needed to visit. Frankie ditched Tom and her trunk and ran down the hall to the dusty door directly across from the stairs. She took a huge breathe and slowly opened the door.

Her room had looked exactly how the six year old girl had left it.

The window was wide open, her tiny bed was messy and unkempt, and several drawers of her dresser had been left open too. Frankie walked over and sat on the bed several sizes too small for her. The cool summer breeze was blowing from the window she had left wide in her hastiness to escape. She walked over and gazed out at the backyard. The flowers were no longer there and the grass was out of control, but the tree by her window was still growing strong. Suddenly, she jumped onto the window sill and onto the thick branch in the tree. However, she did not climb down this time. She just sat at the base of the branch, leaning her had against the trunk, and looked out at the city.

"You should come down from there." Tom had appeared in the window, with an extended arm to help her down. She ignored it.

"I won't be able to sleep here, you know."

"You couldn't sleep at the orphanage, anyway."

"Yes and it was only because of the nightmares that I've been having about this place," Frankie responded, still staring out at the city. "Coming back to the place that I had been imprisoned in for so long. I foolishly thought that I was finally free…"

"It's only for a while," Tom added, reassuringly. He realized she wouldn't budge on his offer to help her back inside, so he came out the window and sat beside her. He held out his pinky, to show her he was not lying, "I promise."

"Fine..."

The two returned inside as the sun began to set. Frankie remained in her room, looking around for what she wanted to take from her childhood, while Tom began to start a fire in the fireplace in the living room. She tried to stay upstairs as long as possible, it hurt more downstairs, but eventually she had nothing left to distract her and was forced back down. In her room, she found Paddington, a stuffed bear that had once been her father's when he was a boy. She held him close as she descended back down with the last item worth saving.

Surprisingly, right as she walked into the old living room, a large owl swooped in through the shattered front window. Frankie recognized the owl immediately as the one that had been flying in the windows all summer. She took the new letter from Dylan and opened it,

" _Dear Frankie,_

_I'm sorry to get back to you so late. My family is taking a trip to Sweden at the moment and our owl is so slow when it comes to long distance. This will probably the last time I can send you a letter. I hope your summer is continuing to go well. I can't wait to hear all about it when were back at school. I will be returning in a few days and I hope to see you as soon as possible. Tell Tom I say hello._

_-Dylan"_

Frankie grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill from her trunk and started to write her reply,

_"Dear Dylan,_

_My summer has been—_ Frankie paused. How could she explain her summer thus far without worrying Dylan? Frankie couldn't exactly tell her that she and Tom were currently runaways living in her old abandoned house because she didn't want to be adopted.

"— _interesting. I'll tell you all about it when we get back to school. I'm on our yearly trip to the country right now. I'm surprised you owl was even able to find me. Tom and I are doing fine and I can't wait to see you back at school as well._

_-Frankie"_

It was more like a note then a letter, but regardless, she gave it back to the owl and it took off once more.

"Dylan?" Tom questioned, catching a glimpse of the owl. It looked like had just come back from exploring the backyard, with more wood in hand. Tom set the pile down and knelt by the fireplace as he tossed more pieces in. "Did you tell her?"

"No," Frankie replied, sitting beside him by the small fire. "I wouldn't want to worry her…"

"It was amazing her owl was able to find us. We'll have to find a better hiding spot soon."

What if they couldn't find a new place? Frankie couldn't take sitting in the charcoal of the fire she had created for too much longer. How long had they been here already? It felt like weeks, but had really only been hours. She stared into the orange flickering flames in the fireplace, remembering how her father's wand guided the flames around the room. It made her shiver, yet she wasn't cold.

"You can go sleep in your room, if you'd like. I'll sleep down here." Tom stated, breaking the silent staring into the fireplace.

"Goodnight, Tom." Frankie added, trying to muster a smile. Truthfully, she wanted for him to sleep closer to her. Tom scared away the nightmares. However, she was already burdening him with her cold attitude and complaints about his choice in housing. If it weren't for her, none of this would've happened and she could already tell it was starting to stress him out. It was true Tom was a very mature and independent person, but he didn’t know to support another person. He was now responsible for both of them.

Frankie was about to embark up the stairs when she saw something amidst the rubble. She started pushing it away and there sat both of her parent's wands. Surprisingly, the wands were still alive and, like the house, were mysteriously not burned. The decayed bodies of her parents did not sit with them, thankfully, someone must have moved them. She picked both the wands up and continued towards the stairs. Perhaps, Ollivander could I.D them for her when they went to Diagon Alley. She arrived back in her room and set the wands on her bedside table. There was no need for pajamas she just grabbed Paddington and got Rue, from her trunk, and curled up with them in her small bed to try and go to sleep.

The house was suddenly no longer dusty and abandoned, but looked exactly how it used to be in it's prime. Along with the new house was a new Frankie, only six years old. She was standing on top of the stairs once more, except this time she knew everything. Slowly and carefully, she made her way down the stairs. This time her mother didn't get mad at her and instead just simply led her into the living room for tea. She couldn't help but stare at the people once dead, wondering if this time she could save them. The Sword of Gryffindor still sat in the corner of the room, flimsily covered in old rags. If she warned them now, she could protect them from a horrible death.

"The Sword of Gryffindor needs to go now," Frankie stated, pointing at the sword. Her parents looked shocked. They didn’t realize that wasn’t their six year old daughter. And neither did she, "If you don't take it to Dumbledore now, you'll be sorry."

"How do you—"

"Hurry up and just do it." she demanded, not caring if they didn’t understand her. If her father was able to take it to Dumbledore, he would stay alive. They would be safe and she'd still have her parents. "Please..."

"All right, just go play in the garden. I'll take care of it now." her father replied. Frankie ran out into the garden hoping they would do what she had said. A few minutes later she heard a popping sound. She recognized it as the sound of Disapparating. Of course, that didn't really matter anymore. Her attention was now focused on the bushes. If she passed through, she would see the younger Tom sitting alone at their table in Wool's Orphanage. The sword was gone now, surely it would be alright. Wouldn't it? She ran into the bushes and soon arrived at the clearing at the orphanage, where six year old Tom was. He sat the small white table, reading the book that he had no interest in. This time she didn't duck into the bushes.

"Tom!" Frankie yelled, waving from the bushes. He stared at her oddly like he had done before, except this time it was for a different reason. A strange girl standing in the bushes was calling his name, yet he did not know her.

"Who are you?" Tom asked, with a hint of surprise in his voice, however was ultimately disturbed. "How do you know my name?"

"We're friends." Frankie answered, sitting down into the other chair.

"That's a lie." he laughed, cruelly. Him? Have friends? Clearly, this girl didn't know the new rule of the orphanage, 'Talking to the son of Satan will get you cursed'. "I don't have any friends."

"That's not true, Tom. In the future, you and I are best friends," she remarked. "I know you better than anyone else."

"You're from the future? Prove it." Tom commanded. She sounded psychotic to him, there was no way he was about to believe her. He merely asked because he knew she could not produce it. However, with enough proof, he could believe anything. Frankie went on telling him about their future, all her memories of Tom seeming to spill out into one story. The real meeting, how they'd meet again two years later, the incident he'd find out she had magic, and many of their Hogwarts adventures.

"Do you honestly expect me to believe there's a school for magic, called Hogwarts? You have got to be joking."

"I suppose it does sound a little ridiculous."

"Making Billy Stubb repeatedly punch himself in the face, though. Now that sounds like a laugh." Tom remarked, with somewhat of a smile. He stared on at this strange girl who had just told him his future. Perhaps, he had believed her a little. She had details about his life and the orphanage that not just anyone would know. He thought she was very _interesting_ at the least.

"Well, I kind of changed things and saved my parents from death, which means I won't be coming to the orphanage and making Billy punch himself in the face." She just realized she wouldn't be going to the orphanage to befriend Tom. Her parents would be alive and they'd move back to the wizarding world. However, he could always have the fantasy and she could always have the memory of Billy's face spurting blood.

"So, I won't be seeing you till Hogwarts, then?"

"No, I'll be back." She wasn't about to wait three years to be reunited with her best friend. She'd convince her parent's to stay somehow. "I have to go now, but I’ll be back tomorrow. Bye, Tom."

Tom watched as the mysterious girl disappeared into the bushes once more. Only the orphan girls, who had been staring at them at a distance in horror, saw the genuine smile that crept upon his face as he watched her go.

Frankie was pushing through the bushes and trees, until she was once again at her own house. She walked into her house expecting for everything to be normal this time. However, she had not really changed the future. The dark wizard stood once more over her parent's bloodied bodies. Frankie had lost control of her own body as the past was being replayed and she once again sat in the fire crying.

Then, suddenly, she was being escorted into the orphanage and Tom was staring at her with a confused expression.

" _What happened?"_

" _I couldn’t save them…"_

Frankie woke up in her old room in the dead of night, with tears in her eyes. Only another nightmare. What had made dreams like these nightmares was the misconception that you had control, and like most dreams, the appearance of reality was uncanny. She thought she was actually being given the chance to change what had happened…

She walked downstairs, knowing she was no longer able to sleep in that room for at least tonight. Tom was still awake, sitting on what was left of the couch, reading. He looked up from his book for a fraction of a second on her arrival.

"You almost made it."

"I'm sorry."

"For what?" he inquired, sounding confused. She had nothing to apologize for, so why was she?

"Everything." she answered, sitting down next to him. Her voice was wobbly and she seemed to be on the verge of tears again. "This is all my fault. I should just go back now before it's too late."

"Will you be happy going to go live with the doctor?" Tom asked, calmly.

"No, but I don't want to keep running, Tom." Frankie added. "How long can we keep this up?"

"I didn't just do this for you, you know. I've always wanted to leave that wretched place, ever since I was old enough to conjure sensible thought. You clearly understand the feeling of being trapped and alone. You felt you were imprisoned here, I've always felt that I was imprisoned there…" Tom explained. He hoped that she wasn't too lost or dead to hear him. She was clearly tired and not in her right mind, if she was considering giving up her freedom. "However, it is true that I wasn't about to lose the only thing that has ever made me want to stay."

"Thank you." She actually properly smiled because she did hear what he was saying and she felt the same way.

"I actually think I’ve got a new place where we can stay. However, we'll have to stay here a few more days, though."

"Why?" Frankie protested, with a slight pout. She didn't want to stay here if there was somewhere else. She needed to get out as soon as possible.

"I'm not sure if they will let us stay there. Also, it's a bit risky of getting us caught."

"By the doctor?"

"No, by Dumbledore. You know if he finds out, he'll force us to go back." Tom reasoned. She nodded in agreement, drowsily. After talking with him, she was ready to go back to sleep, but she couldn't go back upstairs or else she'd lose that feeling. So, she cautiously drew nearer to Tom's shoulder. Would he be okay with being Rue and Paddington's replacement as company, for half a night? He was tired as well, yet still could clearly see what she was trying for. He didn't really have any objections. So, just for tonight he'd indulge his secret desire to be with her in a slightly more than friend way and keep her too close.

Frankie had agreed to stay a few more days, without too much complaint. Although, she really didn't want to, it was better not to further argue with Tom. She spent most of her time there in the garden sitting in the tall untrimmed grass or up in the tree. Being in the house without Tom was too painful, it made her mind go cloudy and she couldn't think straight. Tom would leave her during the day and go out on walks, seeing if he could 'find' any food or other necessities. He usually came back with a few things, even though he had no muggle money. It should've tipped Frankie off, but she was much too distracted to notice Tom's continued thievery. Slowly, Frankie's hatred and fear for the place had dispersed a little. It was actually becoming a bit fun for a while. It was kind of like playing a more serious and adult version of house. However, they could not remain peacefully undisturbed for long.

"Pack your things," Tom stated, as he was entering the house one morning. His daily walk had ended drastically short and it looked as though he had speed-walked home. He had a rolled newspaper in his hand. "We have to leave."

"This is pretty sudden. Why?"

"Apparently, your new 'father' isn't too happy that you've run away. Or as people have been putting it 'stolen by a sociopathic, teenage boy'," he reported, heading over to get his trunk. They had to get going immediately. "He's had the police looking for us since we left."

"How do you know this?" Frankie inquired. Hopefully, he didn't see the doctor running down the streets looking for her or putting missing person's posters on signs all over London.

"I heard the neighbors talking about it on one of my walks. It's in the papers too." Tom replied, handing her the role of papers he had been clutching in his hand. Their story was splashed across the front page with a big bold headline. It spun a cheerful tale of a poor, sick orphan girl and her doctor happily reunited after six years. But then she was kidnapped by fellow orphan and un-medicated sociopath, Tom Riddle. The police believe it was out of either jealousy or an absolute obsession with the girl.

Their information was about as true as the Daily Prophet's news, maybe a smidge more dramatized. It's not like they were completely at fault. Mrs. Cole must've told those lies to Dr. Fields, so Tom would be blamed instead of her.

"I didn't know you had an absolute obsession with me Tom." she giggled, as she finished reading the article.

"Shut it. We need to leave before someone notices us."

"Where are we going?"

"The Leaky Cauldron."

Even though she had always said that she wanted to go the day they got there, she wasn't exactly happy about leaving. Her opinion of the house had changed from a cage into a little more like a home. She was no longer forced to stay there as she once had been. Regardless, Frankie quickly packed her trunk with a few more various treasures she found and prepared to leave. She took practically everything she could find that wasn’t destroyed. A few minutes later they were ready to move one. Frankie took one last slight glance back at her old house, before she turned to leave with Tom.

They left in a slight rush, hoping that it'd be okay leaving in broad daylight. The walk wasn't too long. They already knew where the Leaky Cauldron was because they always went there to get through to Diagon Alley. Although, for safe measure, they were in disguise. Frankie wrapped her Gryffindor scarf around her mouth and wore a sunhat and sunglasses, found in her mother's side of the closet. Tom did the same with his Slytherin scarf and hat and glasses from her father's side. Apart from a couple odd stares from wearing scarves on the first day of August, no one noticed the kidnapped girl and the sociopathic boy enter the Leaky Cauldron. The pub was dark and shabby, like usual, with a few men passed out on their bar stools. Frankie and Tom quickly took off their disguises, before the barkeep noticed their arrival. Thankfully, he didn't turn around until they were finished.

"It's a bit early for school shopping, you two, isn't it?" he smiled, with a chuckle. The barkeep's name was also Tom, too much of Tom's dismay. It always got very confusing talking to the two of them when they were together. "What's the matter? You two are already carrying your trunks."

"We need a place to stay till school starts."

"Say no more. There are a couple of empty rooms upstairs, if you like."

"Thank you, sir." They immediately headed towards the wooden staircase. Despite the filthy downstairs of the pub, there were some unexpectedly pleasant rooms upstairs where other wizards and witches were staying. Frankie entered her room. It contained a huge comfortable bed, highly polished oak furniture, and a crackling fire which had already been burning. It looked a lot comfier then the small drafty room at her old house.

He said he didn't need payment for them to stay there, however, Frankie felt guilty so she began to help out in the pub as best she could. She would just do simple tasks like waitressing and washing dishes, while Tom would sit at the tables reading or sometimes looking at the old pictures of her parents. A lot of the ones from their seventh year intrigued him. They were in parts of the castle he had never seen before, yet looked familiar. The one that was the most intriguing was the one that was a split second of a grand room with giant snake statues, before it went blurry and dark. The back read,

_The Chamber of Secrets (Don't forget to close your eyes)_

The name ringed in his mind, like it was somewhere of importance. He asked Frankie if she had ever heard of such a place and she believed Professor Binns might've mentioned it when they were doing the Hogwarts history unit, in their second year of History of Magic. Tom checked _Hogwarts, A History_ , only to find the name repeated once more without explanation. He'd need to go to Flourish and Blotts, if he wanted to research it any further. Luckily, a trip to Diagon Alley was just a slip downstairs.

"You two have fun, now." Tom grinned, waving after them as they walked through the brick archway. Frankie waved back as she and her Tom went into the crowded alley. The two went to the usual places in Diagon Alley, picking up their school items as they went. However, Frankie had to make a special trip to see Garrick Ollivander.

"Frankie! Is it that time of year already?" Garrick grinned, as he just finished ringing up some first years.

"Yes, Tom and I are doing our school shopping today. We're going to be fourth years." Frankie smiled in return. She and Tom went behind the counter and took up two stools beside him and his father.

"Fourth years already, how time flies." Garrick added. He noticed the scarf wrappings Frankie held in her hands. "Now, what do you have there?"

"Something for your father." Frankie walked over to the old man and held out the wrappings. Ollivander Sr. looked at her confused while she unwrapped the wrappings to reveal two wands. Tom and Garrick were left staring at how she miraculously obtained two wands that were not hers, while Ollivander Sr. snatched them up immediately.

"My friends have returned to me!"

"Whose wands are those, Frankie?"

" _See this one shine, how he smiles in the light. My friend. He was a hero!"_

"My parent's wands. I figured he made them, and I have plenty mementos, so he'd want them back. I wasn't expecting this…"

_"My clever friend, dreamed splendors never dreamed before. See her beauty!"_

"Yes, dad. She's a beauty. Now, get her out of my face before you skewer her up my nose." Garrick answered, swatting his father's wand flourishing hand away. "Thank you, Frankie. I'm pretty sure he's happy to see them again."

Ollivander Sr. smiled at Frankie, for once not looking like a complete loon, and pulled her into a hug. _"Daughter of light, stay true to your good deeds and earnest. Be wary of those who threaten to extinguish you."_

"Nutter, what's he talking about?" Tom inquired, turning to the younger Ollivander for assistance. By nutter, he was referring to him.

"Who you still calling a nutter? After the crap he's been saying." Garrick argued back. Ollivander Sr. suddenly released Frankie and grabbed onto Tom's shoulder.

" _Lord of darkness, there is no denying your power. You will be one of the strongest wizards in history. However, fear and greed will be your enemies. If you try to live forever, the light will always be lost to you..."_

"Look, grandpa, I'm really not in the mood for your crazy cryptic babbling." Tom exclaimed, brushing his hand off his shoulder. "Let's leave now, Frankie. We still need to get to Flourish and Blotts."

Frankie waved goodbye and followed Tom out of the shop. He’d had enough of dealing with those two for one trip to Diagon Alley. They went back up the alley to their favorite bookshop, Flourish and Blotts. It was usually the last stop because they knew that's where they would spend most of their time. The shop was a bit more crowded than usual, people bustling and shoving to get their books.

"Stay close. I don't want you getting lost." Tom stated, turning to face Frankie. However, he was completely unaware that she had already disappeared into the crowd a long time ago.

Frankie was somewhere else in the midst of Flourish and Blotts trying to get a book from one of the higher shelves. She had almost been able to reach it when someone standing behind her grabbed it first.

"Here you go, miss." the voice remarked, handing her the book.

"Thanks." Frankie smiled. She was about to walk away when she realized had heard his voice before. A light bulb seemed to flash in both of their heads as they both recognized who they were talking to.

"Quin!"

"Ah, Frankie!"

She threw her arms around him, feeling as if had been forever since she had seen someone else that she knew. What had been only a summer felt like it had went on several years. Frankie missed him, she missed everyone.

"And I thought you were mad at me." he laughed. Frankie released him when she remembered this. The two had not actually talked since their quarrel the previous school year. It had lasted a long time.

"It was a stupid argument anyway," Frankie stated, clutching the book tighter. "besides you've already apologized enough."

"Yeah, I suppose we should just forget it."

The two began searching for their school books together. Both of them were filling each other in on what had been happening since their fight, as they made their way through the crowded shop. Of course, unless she wanted to start something else, she wouldn't dare mention the fact she had run away with Tom. That was an obviously bad idea.

"So, I hear that Slughorn is having a Christmas party for students this year." Quin reported, continuing to talk on as they searched. Frankie laughed as he bumped into piles of books toppling onto a very plump witch below. They had to casually back away into the crowd, like nothing had ever happened.

"Really? Who told you that?" Frankie said, sounding rather surprised. Professor Slughorn had never mentioned anything, but then again she had been technically kidnapped all summer and Slughorn wasn’t one to check up on her unless she was at school.

"Aidan's dad told me. He's apparently inviting all his important former students now, so they don't make other plans," Quin explained, picking out a book from a shelf. "Supposedly you have to be one of his special students get in, though."

"Well, it looks like you're out then." Frankie said. It was true. Without Tom and Frankie he wasn't very good in Potions.

"Yeah, but you'll be going. Slughorn just loves you," Quin laughed. "Will you —"

Tom had arrived, making him stop in mid-sentence and grow a small scowl. "I don't mean to intrude, but _we_ have to go now." Tom snapped. He was very cross, after not getting to do the research he wanted to on the Chamber of Secrets and having to spend the last hour looking for her.

"I'm sorry, Tom." Frankie apologized, quickly running back to his side. "I'll see you at school, Quin."

Tom turned back as they exited, giving Quin a satisfied look of superiority for winning yet another round and a sarcastic wave good bye. It would seem that he and Frankie were back on speaking terms, but it was still rather easy to take her from him. It gave Tom a strange satisfaction. It was always a small victory, but sooner or later he’d win it all. It was only a matter of time. Rewarding himself for his triumph, Tom let his mental rules about hand holding slip and grasped her hand to lead her through the dense crowd of people.

They returned to the Leaky Cauldron, put away their new school things, and prepared for the usual evening crowd to appear. Frankie would spend the evening bustling around taking orders and serving drinks, until both Toms insisted she did enough. Meanwhile, Tom would be sitting at the bar listening to the obviously fake stories of old drunken wizards, keeping an eye out for Frankie. Even though today had not gone how he wanted it to, being in Diagon Alley and seeing Quin did set in the realization that summer was finally ending. Soon they could go back home. Together.


	31. Stop Getting in My Way

"I'm leaving without you if you don't hurry up…" Tom threatened, knocking on the door to Frankie's room. Normally, Mrs. Cole could be heard yelling at them from downstairs, as if she was afraid they'd miss the train and be stuck at the orphanage all year. However, nothing could be heard on this silent early morning at the Leaky Cauldron. Today they would finally be going back to school after this long and stressful, yet exciting and adventurous, summer that they had. It would be great to finally go back to a place that they could actually call home.

"Just a moment." she whisper-yelled, from the other side of the door. She had just straightened out the skirt on her uniform, deciding to not repeat the pattern of her previous years. This year was going to be different. After her chances to stay at school were threatened, she was determined to make it so. Frankie grabbed her trunk and found Tom waiting for her in front of her room.

"It took you long enough." Tom stated, starting to walk down the hall.

"I'm sorry," Frankie remarked, walking along with him, "But you're the one who told me to change beforehand."

The two headed down the wooden staircase into the grubby pub, where the other Tom was wiping the counter of the bar with a dishrag. It was a bit early for the Leaky Cauldron to open, but he probably wanted see them off before they left for school.

"I've never seen you both actually in uniform before. I didn't know you two were in different houses." he remarked, as they made it to the bottom of the stairs.

"You didn't?" It was a rare thing for another magical person to not always be defining them by the color of their ties and the symbols on their chests.

"No, you two seemed so close."

"Anyway, we'll be heading off to King's Cross now. Thank you for taking us in." Tom added, trying to ignore the past tense of his words. He could tell that the other Tom was trying to look at them the same, but was having a slight difficulty.

"It was no trouble. I'll see you both soon, then."

"We might be back next summer, depending on how things work out."

After saying their goodbyes, the two left for the station. At the pace Frankie was going, it didn't take more than fifteen minutes to reach King’s Cross Station. This time she was even more excited than years before. They were finally going home. She was pushing her cart at top speed, violently through the crowds of muggles. The same large guard was still yelling at her to walk, but after four years she just wasn't listening anymore. If she would not even listen to Tom, then she was definitely wasn't about to listen to him. Suddenly, she saw a figure with a long lion’s mane of blonde hair moving in the crowd that made her accelerate even faster.

"Dylan!" Frankie yelled, shoving through the people not even knowing if it was her friend or not. The figure turned to see who had called her and saw her friend running and jostling her way through the crowd. The two met in the middle of platform eight. It felt like ages since Frankie had seen her friends and after having the fear that she would never see them again, she felt more joy then she could possibly even express. After several exchanges of "How are you?" and "I missed you so much." Dylan finally dug into her pocket retrieving Frankie's last letter.

"So, what exactly happened this summer?" she asked, holding up the letter with haughty suspicion. Frankie looked around nervously at the crowd of bystanders for anyone that could possibly hear her. However, it was hard to sort out the muggles from the wizards in such a thick crowd. She couldn't risk having their entire year gossiping about her and Tom. If she didn't explain it right, even telling her friends might backfire.

"I'll tell you when we get back to school, ok?" Frankie replied, in a bit of a whisper, looking untrustworthily into the surrounding crowd. Their room would be a lot safer than here. Dylan nodded and they started walking towards platforms nine and ten. When they arrived, Tom was already waiting at the running point.

"Where have you been?" Tom asked her, even though the answer was standing right beside her. "You go running off without me and then you don't even get here before me. Pathetic."

"Sorry, Tom. It was my fault. She saw me and got distracted." Dylan replied, in Frankie's defense.

"Let's go!" Frankie insisted, eagerly. All their friends were beyond that pillar and they couldn't afford to be late to meet them. Dylan lined up, took a deep breath, and ran at the barrier. Next, Frankie sprinted full speed towards the barrier, not even shutting her eyes as she collided with it. Lastly, Tom lined up to run through the barrier. He always had mix feelings about running towards a solid object at an accelerated speed, yet he always knew that he'd end up on the other side with Frankie waiting for him.

"I think I'll sit with you two this time." Dylan was saying, as he walked towards them. Frankie nodded in agreement and Tom didn't really have much say in the matter. He was usually accustomed to them sitting alone, but perhaps having Dylan there would make people less suspicious. He was expecting Frankie's and his summer to get out somehow. The three scrambled to get onto the train to get good seats. Luckily, they found an empty compartment to sit in because they seemed to be filling up fast this year.

"Hey, everywhere else is full. Is it alright if we sit here?"

It was a popular question their compartment especially was being asked. The first one to ask it was Quin, with Aidan standing right behind him. He noticed Frankie sitting in the window seat and Dylan sitting next to her. However, he chose to ignore Tom sitting in the seat across from Frankie. Aidan sat in the seat beside Dylan and Quin sat in the seat beside him. Thus the compartment was filled with four Gryffindors and only one Slytherin. That was easily changed a few minutes later when Lestrange, Malfoy, and Peter appeared in the compartment. Tom's brain slightly panicked at their arrival, thinking for sure he was caught and his status ruined, but he merely sat there pretending to be buried in the nothing-of- interest book.

"It looks like Tom got stuck with a bunch of Gryffindors." Lestrange laughed, tauntingly.

"That means we are too. Don't you remember? There aren't any compartments left." Peter added.

Lestrange scowled at the four Gryffindors, as the three sat in the remaining compartment seats next to Tom. This was clearly by far the worst group of people to ever have in a confined space. Dylan was one thing, but Tom could not talk normally to Frankie with all these other people in here. His "friends" still thought he hated her. Tom was worried he'd say something rude to her on accident, so he didn't talk at all. Instead, he just kept to his book, while the other boys talked on about Quidditch. Lestrange and Malfoy were on the Slytherin house Quidditch team, while Quin and Aidan were on the Gryffindor one.

"The Gryffindor team hasn't won the Quidditch cup in years," Lestrange sneered, to Malfoy. However, it was definitely meant towards Quin and Aidan. "It's probably because they have such a weak Keeper."

Quin glared over at Lestrange. He was obviously the Gryffindor Keeper.

"At least I don't use cheap shots like you, Lestrange!" Quin fumed. The four had been arguing for nearly the whole train ride. Their bickering could probably be heard throughout the whole train by now.

"At least I can actually catch a Snitch." Aidan stated, confidently. This was a slip towards Malfoy, considering the fact they were both Seekers for their teams. The group's anger had finally reached its peak. Lestrange and Malfoy withdrew their wands from their pockets and Quin and Aidan did the same.

"Stop!" Frankie shouted, running between the four wands without hesitation. "Would you all just give it a rest already?"

"You can't control us!" Lestrange snapped. He wasn't about to lower his wand because _she_ told him to. Malfoy would probably, in fact he already was starting to lower his wand after she said it, but Lestrange would never. "Besides, you Gryffindor gits deserve to get what's coming to you... _all of you_ —"

"She's right. That's enough, Lestrange." Tom stated, calmly rising from his seat. There was a small glare battle between him and Lestrange, before he obeyed and sat back down in his seat, scowling. Of course, things were far from being over between them and the Gryffindor boys, but for now at least the situation had been reduced to a silent simmering anger.

You would think the arrival of the Ariella Sweet, the Candy Lady, couldn't come at any better time.

"Anything from the trolley, sweeties?" she asked, cheerfully. The compartment was soon filled with various candies like Cauldron Cakes, Pumpkin Pasties and Acid Pops. The deathly attitude seemed to be drowned out with the cheeriness that the sweets had brought. It didn't remain that way for long, though. It all started when Quin opened a Chocolate Frog. As soon as the frog was released from it's blue packaging it quickly leaped from Quin's lap right onto Malfoy's right cheek. The frog was struggling to climb up into his long blonde hair, but it just couldn't no matter how hard it tried. Quin and Aidan were both laughing loudly, while Frankie and Dylan were desperately trying to hold back their girlish giggles. Even Lestrange was laughing a bit at his friend's misfortune.

For a quick second, you would think they were all very good friends rather than the bitterest of enemies. However, Malfoy didn't find it funny one bit. Glaring heavily at Quin, he peeled the frog off his face, picked up a very fat Jelly Slug, and threw it at Quin's face. Now, Malfoy and Lestrange were laughing hysterically at his jelly slime covered face. The next thing you knew various candy was flying into the air. Aidan had shoved Peter's whole face into a Pumpkin Pastie, Malfoy kept on pelting Quin with Jelly Slugs, and Lestrange had even smashed a Cauldron Cake over Frankie's head. Tom was sitting in his seat trying to read his book, but it was hard to ignore the candy flying at him.

Unfortunately, the train had stopped before he could tell them all to stop. The other students from the surrounding compartments stared. How could they not? The candy covered fourth years walked out of their compartment, trying to look as if nothing had happened. Frankie's hair was covered with gold filling and whip cream from the Cauldron Cake and she could feel several Bertie Botts from the bag Quin bought her lingering in her bra. Malfoy had dumped the entire bag down her shirt. She and Dylan stepped off the train, trying to ignore the stares from a couple of second years, when Frankie noticed the tall man grouping the first years together.

"Hello, Ogg! How are you?" Frankie smiled, walking over to him immediately. He stared at her odd appearance, along with pretty much the entire first year class.

"What happened?" he exclaimed, shining his lantern upon her closer as if his eyes were mistaking him. Turns out they were not. Her new golden hair sparkled in the lantern light and her chest poked out in awkward places.

"There was a bit of trouble on the train, but I'm alright." she sighed, tugging at her shirt, letting the excess beans finally rain down onto the ground.

"Ah, yes. Well, I was looking to see you anyway," Ogg added, quickly changing the subject. "I have a message from Dumbledore."

"Really?"

"He said he wanted to see you and Riddle immediately." he reported. Having conveyed the message, Ogg waved goodbye and left with the first years towards the boats. Meanwhile, Frankie ran over to tell Tom, as they were getting on the Thestral drawn carriages.

"Why would _he_ want to see us?"

"I'm not sure." Frankie answered, as the carriage suddenly lurched forward.

Tom spent the ride trying to figure out how to get out of this little chat with Dumbledore. However, the second they got to the castle, they could already see him waiting for them by the entrance. There was no escape from the half-moon spectacled man. He was like oxygen. They got out of the carriage and detached themselves from the rest of the fourth years to go talk to him.

"Good evening, sir." they both greeted, politely, as they approached him.

"It recently came to my attention that you two are no longer living at the orphanage," Dumbledore reported, getting straight to the point. "In short, you ran away."

"But, Frankie was—"

"Relax, Tom, I am already aware of the circumstances that you felt you needed to take into your own hands. I can assure you that you are not in any trouble," Dumbledore claimed, however, Tom wasn't sure he meant it. How much did he know really? Surely, if he knew the whole thing, there would be a massive punishment. "However, you two will be returning to the orphanage next summer. Is that clear?"

"You don't understand. There's no way we can just go back there. That man was determined to adopt Frankie and I won't let him." Tom yelled back, furiously. Despite Tom's angry nature, Dumbledore remained calm as always. Nothing Tom did ever got a rise out of this man and he hated it. He was a figure of authority and he needed to act like it.

"It has all been taken care of…" Dumbledore replied, vaguely. "You both will return there next summer."

"Fine." Tom agreed, in a dead voice. He realized it was pointless to argue against a man like this. He should've known that after four years. However, that didn't stop the questions and the arguments racing around his head. What was the point of keeping them trapped in that hell hole? Why were they not being punished?

Then it hit him.

Tom realized that this was Dumbledore's punishment, sending them back to the orphanage. He could've let them stay at the Leaky Cauldron until graduation and have their freedom that they had only recently won, but instead he was it taking away…

Dumbledore dismissed them and they headed off to the feast. Tom looked over at Frankie. Her hair was still covered in Cauldron Cake and she had a vacant expression on her face. She must have been feeling the same way. They had been free and she had actually enjoyed it, for the most part. They had gotten a taste of an independent life. But, by next summer, they'd be back to where they had so desperately tried to escape, almost like their freedom never happened. However, for now, they didn’t have to worry about such misfortune. They were at the entrance of the Great Hall and the school year had just begun.

"I'll see you soon." Frankie stated, giving a hollow smile and a wave goodbye.

"Tomorrow, perhaps." He watched as she walked over to the Gryffindor with that fake, hollow smile on her face. She was getting very good at hiding her emotions, despite her happy appearance, she wasn't always as happy as she appeared. Everyone was too distracted by food to even notice she had not been there at all. They merely merged a "happy" Frankie into their conversations, while Tom went over to the Slytherin table.

After the feast and a well-deserved shower, Frankie was back in the Gryffindor girl's dorm and she could finally feel like she was back home. Although, as much as she just wanted to sink down into her pillow and sleep forever, she owed Dylan the story of the summer.

"What?! Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Dylan exclaimed, once Frankie was through explaining.

"I thought you would worry."

"Of course, I would. You and Tom ran away together! He was willing to become homeless just so you two could stay together."

"Don't say it like that." Frankie added, in a hushed whisper. It was too late. Dylan had attracted the attention of the other girls and they immediately crowded around her, bombarding her with questions. "It's not like that!" she kept having to scream at them, her face growing more scarlet. It really wasn't like that.

Right?


	32. Slughorn's 1st Christmas Party

The temperature seemed to be dropping every second, as it was soon moving deeper and deeper into December. September and October had gone just like that. However, ever since November started things had begun to move slower and by December, it felt like time wasn't going anywhere at all. It was like an eternal winter that just wouldn't end. One of the causes was possibly the large amounts of homework that needed to be done before break, piling up like snow, another was the dropping temperature. It made all the students grouchy and irritable.

However, rain or shine, busy or not, it was once again another Sunday morning.

"It's freezing out here." Frankie reported, wrapping her scarf tighter around her neck. The two were taking their Sunday walk in the blistering cold of mid-December. They hadn't even made it to the tree yet and she couldn't feel her toes anymore.

"Quit complaining!" Tom hissed, angrily, at her. "You're mine. Every Sunday for the rest of your life. You promised me, that."

His cold attitude was a perfect mirror of the weather. Ice cold, but not snowing quite yet. The cold weather did not particularly bother him. He was just in a foul mood today. Tom did slightly regret saying this comment, moments after he had said it. He usually never acted this way when he was with her, or at least he tried his best not to say anything that would make her angry or upset. He had made their childish promise sound like he _owned_ her.

"I'm sorry." Frankie apologized, flashing him a warm smile that would melt through the cold. She either didn't seem to mind his cold attitude, or didn't seem to notice how rude and possessive he had actually been. Well, she's a very dense girl after all. Neither would’ve shocked him.

"It's not your fault. You don't need to apologize," he replied, letting her warm smile in to ease some of his irritability. "I'm the one who lost my temper."

They sat in the frosted grass and dawned the hoods of their cloaks, now that they weren't walking towards the wind. The look was less obvious, unlike their previous winter outings, where Tom refused to where his scarf and they'd spend the walk conjoined at the neck. They had both finally gotten proper winter cloaks and he could easily conceal his scarf now. He thought it looked ridiculous, but the scarf was looking a lot more appealing nowadays, considering it was cold and the fact that being seen with Frankie was becoming more dangerous by the day.

The Slytherin boys had always been following Tom, obeying his every whim. He never knew exactly why, but he wasn't about to deny having power over the powerful. It'd be useful. They'd be useful. If he played his cards right, next year he would be made a Prefect for Slytherin house and seventh year, Head Boy. Those were all pretty key aspects for a successful future. Since, it was fourth year now he started thinking about life after Hogwarts, there was only three more years left after this. Tom wanted to be someone famous and known by everyone in this world, considering what made him special in the muggle world had made him common in this one. His friendship with the Gryffindor girl would send him shooting down the social ladder here and he'd never get anywhere.

They looked like two Dementors sitting back-to-back in the frosty despair they had created around them. Even though the likely-hood of Dementors being anywhere near Hogwarts was slim to none, most people didn't want to risk getting closer to find out for sure. Except a distant figure storming up the path towards them with a similar hooded mystery. Tom scrunched up further into his scarf, so they could only see his cool dark eyes. The figure was definitely headed near them. It was time to deduce who it was, before he quickly made a casual suggestion to Frankie that it was too cold and they should just give up for today. They were round. _Peter, maybe? Ugh, no_ _._ They were larger than Peter. The winter fog was too thick. He only was able to see when the figure got less than a foot in front of them.

"I knew that I'd find you two out, even on a day like this."

It was only Professor Slughorn. He would often go to the Three Broomsticks on Sundays and see Frankie and Tom on his way back up to the castle.

"Good day, Professor Slughorn."

"What do you want from us, professor?" Tom asked, a bit rudely. He was not trying not to sound rude towards his favorite teacher, but he was still in a foul mood.

"I would like the both of you to come to a little party I'm having." Slughorn answered.

"A party?" Frankie questioned, trying to sound both confused and flabbergasted.  Both her and Tom had decided to act surprised, just to humor him. She had already heard the news from Quin at the end of summer and had naturally mentioned it to Tom soon after. As his two favorite students, they’d been expecting invitations to the exclusive event for months now.

"Yes, it's just going to be a few exceptional students like yourselves, along with some of my former pupils." Slughorn explained, with a bit of a superior tone. Slughorn was the kind of teacher you either absolutely loved or you absolutely hated. If you were one of his favorites, it not only meant school life was made easy, but life in general was made easy. Slughorn could get you practically any job you wanted. He may not have looked it, but he was pretty powerful and well connected. Most likely everyone in attendance at the party was going be somewhat famous, or a student who he plans to mold into someone even more brilliant then they were. Tom was certain that Slughorn thought he was going to become the next Minister of Magic, once he graduated.

"We would be honored to attend, sir" Tom replied, for the both of them. Frankie nodded in agreement, to assure him she felt the same and Tom was not just making up her mind for her.

"Excellent! I'll see you both tomorrow night, then." Slughorn smiled, happily. He waved goodbye and trudged off towards the castle, leaving the two standing alone again in the cold, frigid air.

"It sounds fun, doesn't it?" Frankie exclaimed, as they watched Slughorn walk out of sight once more.

"I suppose." Tom answered, plainly. To be quite honest with himself, he was kind of somewhat nervous about it. Tom had never gone to a real party before and he doubted it was going to be the same as an orphanage birthday party. An orphanage birthday was an event that was usually combined with at least five other kid’s birthdays and there was only sometimes cake. Really cheap, old cake, the bakery was probably going to toss out anyway. Sometimes Frankie would tell him about the small parties she'd have with a few Gryffindors in the common room on Christmas, but those probably weren't the same either. This had the air of regality and adulthood to it, which as still technically children, they had to prove that they belonged there.

They left soon after Slughorn did, not wanting to remain in the cold any longer. It looked like it was about to snow any second. They waved a casual goodbye when they arrived at the entrance, before retreating to their own respective common rooms until supper.

_"You're going too?!"_

Frankie had shouted with a mixture of excited and surprised. She and Dylan were walking along the corridors filled with holly and mistletoe, heading towards the Great Hall. Frankie had just announced that Slughorn had just invited her and Tom to his Christmas party, when Dylan mentioned she and Aidan were going to the party as well.

"Yes, both me and Aidan. I guess it's no surprise you're the third Gryffindor that Slughorn was talking about." Dylan replied, as they entered the Great Hall. Frankie, Dylan, and Aidan were the only Gryffindors attending Slughorn's party. There was only a day left, but at least they were lucky enough get invited. He didn't usually have Gryffindors as his favorites and certainly not one of his "most prized students", as he often referred to Frankie and Tom as. They were both his favorites among favorites.

"It's going to be so much fun! Now, I won't be there alone."

"You weren't going to be going alone in the first place. Don't you remember who's going with you?"

"Well, yes, but it's not like were going together. We're just going—together…" Frankie stammered, unable to find another way to put it. Ever since they’d come back from summer vacation, it’d been a lot harder to call off the other girls from insinuating about her and Tom’s illicit relationship. Frankie does love him, but she doesn’t know if it’s true love or just brotherly love and she doubted her friends actually knew enough about love themselves to tell her.

Tom had simply agreed to walk with her downstairs to the party, nothing more or less. He said it was because he didn't want her to trip and fall in her heels, but it wasn't like it was a date of any sorts. It was just two friends walking to a party in which they were both invited. However, the skeptical smile growing across Dylan's face was assurance that nothing made it sound like they were just walking there together as friends.

_"It sounds boring."_

Lestrange was repeatedly stabbing his fork into the Slytherin table, as they waited for supper to show up. The fourth year boys all sat in their usual cluster making idle conversation, except for Tom, reading his book and ignoring them, when the subject of Slughorn's party had been brought up by Malfoy. They had all been invited, of course.

"Maybe so, but they'll be lots of important people there. It’s our opportunity to make some powerful connections." Malfoy reasoned.

"I suppose I'll go, only because I have nothing better to do," Lestrange sighed, sounding uninterested. "How about you, Vogel?"

"It's not like I have a choice, now, do I?" Peter replied, just as dully. His father would hear about it, if he didn’t attend. All of their fathers would hear if any of them were to skip out. Unlike Tom, each of them were the sons of extremely powerful families and had already been to over a dozen parties like this one in their lifetime. They knew very well it was going to be like and what was expected of them.

"What about you, Tom? Do you think you're going to go?" Lestrange asked.

"I'm going." Tom answered, plainly. However, it was not like he really planned on seeing any of them there. Hopefully, he'd be spending the whole time hidden within the crowd with a certain Gryffindor.

After the jokes of lessons that always occur on the last day before break, it was soon the night of the party. Tom leaned against the wall, waiting with the Fat Lady for Frankie to come out. As if it wasn't bad enough to have her shouting at him for being there her friend, Violet was there again as well. They hadn't even reached the noise of the party and he already had a headache.

Frankie swung open the portrait a few minutes later, accidently smashing her and Violet into the stone wall, which gave Tom a moment to take in her appearance as she stood frantically apologizing for her clumsiness. She was wearing a powdery pink chiffon dress that hit the floor and was trimmed with ribbons and lace. Her hair was in curly ringlets, tied up with a matching pink ribbon, rather than the usual slightly, messy wave. Was she actually wearing makeup, as well? If she was, it was a very light amount, obviously borrowed from her roommates. Just the right amount to illuminate her beauty and mark a special occasion.

"You look marvelous, almost like me in my younger days." the Fat Lady giggled, as she and Violet were returned to their original place on the wall. Tom let out a small, constrained laugh. He couldn't imagine the Fat lady ever looking like Frankie did.

"Where did you get that dress?" Tom asked, to the ground. The question of where the dress had come from was only a distraction not to admit she looked beautiful.

"It was my mum's dress. She wore it to the Yule Ball." Frankie smiled, as she looked down at the dress.

"You look…nice." was all Tom could muster to say to her. A clear understatement of how he really felt. In the corner of his eye, he could see Violet and The Fat Lady giggling out of the portrait. _Jesus Christ…Shut up, you acrylic disasters!_

"And you look handsome." she added. In her raid of the old house, Frankie took quite literally everything. She kept her mother's clothes and gave Tom her father's clothes. The dress robes were a little off in some places, but for the most part they fit pretty well.

"You lovebirds better be off." Violet giggled, before Tom could address how she apparently thought he looked handsome. The two were trying to hide from Tom's glare from behind their fans. He would've liked nothing more than yell at them to shut up, but decided it was just best to leave for now.

They arrived at the entrance of a glittering decorated office, draped in emerald, crimson, and gold hangings, filled with warm light and people. It was actually Professor Merrythought's office. It was the biggest out of all the offices, so Slughorn must've asked if he could borrow it for the night. The party was in full swing by this point. The room was crowded with several important looking people they couldn't recognize in the slightest. Tom and Frankie didn't really know much of the people in the wizarding world beyond Hogwarts.

They immediately spotted the long blonde haired boy talking to a large group of people in the far corner of the room upon entering. It was Malfoy, naturally. However, he didn't really seem to be acting like his normal self. His usual mischievous attitude was replaced and tonight he seemed more refined and polite. Lestrange and Avery were off to the side of him, probably complaining about Malfoy's newfound fame with the adults and how their leader was not there to cure the utter boredom. Of course, Malfoy's popularity wasn't exactly newfound. The Malfoy family was a very well-known family of Pureblood wizards. Compared against the parentless, orphan Tom, this world was his. If things had been different, Malfoy would've surely been their fearless leader. However, even though Tom was nothing, they had still chosen him. A few feet away from Malfoy, Frankie could see Dylan and Aidan were chatting with Slughorn and the only important face they could recognize. Macgregor Bane, the Minister of Magic. Slughorn had noticed Tom and Frankie's arrival and gestured them to come over and join the group.

"Ah, there you two are!" Slughorn exclaimed, with a hearty chuckle, as the two walked over. "Bane, these are two more of my students Frankie Dickson and Tom Riddle."

"You must be Francis and Elizabeth's daughter. It's a pleasure to meet you, my dear." Macgregor smiled, shaking Frankie's hand. He shook Tom's hand right after, but ultimately seemed to be more interested in her. All the students in attendance, except Tom, seemed to be from a family wealth or fame. Frankie's parents had been famous Aurors, while Tom's parents weren't even known to him. All he knew was what Mrs. Cole told him of his mother and she was most certainly muggle. There was no way his mother could be a witch, giving up like that and, considering he was a Slytherin, he was at least a half-blood.

"It's nice to meet you too, sir."

"Your parents were great people. I knew them well."

"Thank you, sir." Frankie replied, even though she really didn't know what kind of people they actually were.

"You look exactly like your mother, it's rather uncanny..."

"Oh, she does! I’ve always thought so as well. Elizabeth was such a lovely woman." Slughorn agreed.

"If you would all excuse me, I have to be off now. Frankie, give my best to Diana. Hopefully, I’ll be seeing you again soon." He and Slughorn headed towards the door saying their goodbyes, leaving the group in an awkward pause wondering if he was returning.

"Who?" Tom questioned, turning to Frankie. He had told her say hello to someone for him. It sounded like he had said Dumbledore, but why would he make it her task to give him the Minister's best wishes.

"I don't know." Frankie answered, looking confused. It had been loud and she couldn't really hear him. She could barely hear herself think above the music, let alone hear other people. Frankie had never even heard the sounds of the instruments playing. It was clear by the variety of weird shapes and colors that they must have been wizard instruments. The music suddenly slowed down in pace and you could see various people start dancing near the band.

A _t night when the lake is a mirror_

_And the moon rides the waves to the shore_

A _single soul sets his voice singing_

C _ontent to be slightly forlorn…_

"Would you care to dance, Dylan?" Aidan asked, with a foolhardy grin, as they watched the people twirling amidst the crowd.

"Absolutely." Dylan answered, happily taking his hand. The two walked over to the people already dancing, leaving Tom and Frankie alone in the crowd of bystanders. They stood in an awkward silence continuing to watch the dresses fluttering and floating with the tune.

"Would you want to dance?" Tom inquired, breaking the silence between them. He held out his hand, silently beckoning for her to take it.

"Of course, I would." Frankie agreed, smiling, as she took up his hand. Dylan gave them a small wink, as they joined her and Aidan amidst the twirling figures. This was only the third time they had danced, however, they seemed a whole lot better at it for some reason. They weren't just spinning, like before, he actually had his hand on her waist and she was holding his hand. Tom had already lost feeling in his feet after only minutes of dancing. Not because he was nervous or anything, because Frankie had stepped on them again. She had stopped and started apologizing uncontrollably, however, she had actually stepped on his feet a few times already and he was just being too nice to say anything about it. And too happy.

"May I cut in?” Malfoy asked, finally noticed them together and making his way over immediately to stop them. He held out his hand, clearly hoping Frankie would take it instead.

"No." Tom answered, for her. Even though he had the leverage and evidence to expose them in this moment, he would not simply allow this blissful moment to end and be replaced with a disgusting one. He spun with Frankie in the opposite direction of Malfoy and continued to dance with her at a farther distance. Tom curiously looked back to find Lestrange, Avery and Peter were laughing, as Malfoy returned back to their corner of the room defeated. They had clearly seen what happened. Tom was dancing with the enemy and they didn't seem to care at all. Could they have actually been okay with it? Lestrange and Avery were the only two in their house who knew absolutely nothing about his friendship with the Gryffindor girl. They thought he hated her.

After the music stopped, Tom convinced her that they should leave. It was best to get to bed before the Slytherin boys decided to start asking questions. If he went to bed now, they'd be forced to wait till morning, by morning they'd be on the train back home, and by the time the vacation was over they will have forgotten the entire thing. They had seemed okay with it, but it's nice to take safety precautions. Tom and Frankie headed towards the door Tom's eyes seemed to be fixed on the green bunch tied with red ribbon, hanging from the doorway.

_Mistletoe._

It was too perfect an opportunity to simply pass up. He stopped her in the middle of the doorway. She wore a confused look upon her face.

"What's wrong, Tom?"

"Uh…it's nothing." He was hoping she would just get it on her own. There were a few moments of silence before he realized that she wasn't going to figure it out and he'd just have to take the risk. Tom started to lean in and then…

"Are you two going off to bed for tonight? I hope you had a wonderful time."

It was Professor Slughorn. He had come right over and replaced the romantic air with a rather awkward one. Tom looked over at Frankie, who was looking up at the ceiling, blushing. She must've realized what he was trying to do. She looked back at him, very nervously, before she looked away.

"I'll see you soon, Tom. I'm going back to my dorm." Frankie stated, quickly turning to leave.

"I'll walk you back." Tom added, starting to follow after her.

"The Fat Lady will get angry if you come up again. Honestly, I'll be fine on my own." Frankie replied, insistently. She was still blushing a deep shade of red, as she hastily walked down the dim lit corridor. Tom could just barely see her stop halfway down to take off her shoes, pick up the hem of her dress off the ground, and run barefoot into the darkness. He felt like he needed to run after her. For all he knew he could have just ruined their friendship. Tom sprinted down the corridor, but he was too late. She was gone.

For someone whose house stood for unrivaled bravery, she had gotten quite good at running these past few years…

"I'm not letting you in." the Fat Lady stated, for the zillionth time. Tom had been arguing with the Fat Lady for ten minutes, trying to persuade her into letting him explain to Frankie properly.

"Why not?" Tom protested.

"First off, you aren't in this house. Second, even if I did let you in, you wouldn't be able to get to the girls dorms. There's a spell on it that denies the access of men." she explained. Tom sighed and sunk to the ground, defeated, aggravated and tired. It was pointless, coming here and arguing with the Fat Lady. He knew it wasn’t going to work, yet he had still felt the need to try for some reason. "Honestly, if you wanted to talk to her about something so badly, you should have just walked her here after the party."

"She said she didn't need me to…"

"Oh-ho, looks like somebody got dumped." the Fat Lady chimed, in a singsong mocking tone.

"I did not!" Tom shouted back, defensively. "You can't be dumped if you're not together. She obviously doesn't think of me in that way."

"Of course, she does!" the Fat Lady replied, despite having just been mocking him. "I've watched you guys meet here for more than three years now. You just need to make a move."

"That's why she ran away…"

"Just a bit of off timing, is all." she reasoned. Tom sighed. Even more pointless then just sitting here, was getting advice from the Fat Lady. She was really just an irritating painting. What could she possibly know about love? He finally decided to  give up and walked backed down the stairs to return to his own house.

Meanwhile, Frankie was sitting on her bed in her room, all alone. The other girls must have gone out to try and sneak into the party. She was still in her pretty pink dress and smudging makeup into a clean pillow she just had to smother in anguish. Thoughts were racing through her head and pounding out her heart. She was pretty sure Tom had tried to…

_No!_

They had been always been good friends, never anything more than that. Tom didn’t love her in that way. He would never…

A white crane slipped through the crack in the window and floated down into her lap. She knew who it was from, yet she hesitated to open it. Would the note be angry she ran away from him when he was trying to confess, or was it a just a confession itself? Finally, after a while, she couldn't help but unfold it,

" _I'm sorry if you misunderstood my intentions. I was only trying to get some tinsel out of your hair. It wasn't what you thought it was. Please just forget it._

_-Tom"_

As she read the note, Frankie felt a huge wave of relief wash over her. He hadn't been trying to kiss her.

Fortunately, Tom would never feel that way about her.


	33. You're Lying in the Room of Hidden Things

Some people struggle with lying. Tom, on the other hand, had always been a natural at it. From lying about who poured all the good gin for Mrs. Cole’s stash down the toilet, to his hatred of the Gryffindor girl he really loved. In Tom’s opinion, lying was always better than the truth. It covered up the messy parts in life. Including the horribly embarrassing attempt he had made to take his and Frankie’s relationship further. The event had all been covered up by one little white lie. Frankie had been fooled by the lie that he wasn't interested in her, miraculously, when he had made it quite obvious of his true feelings. She was usually able to tell when he was lying, at least more than anyone else was able to. So, for now, things stayed somewhat normal between them. They didn’t spend too much time together besides meals and walks. However, winter holiday still continued without many worries or strife. Frankie spent most of her days sitting by the fire in Ogg's cabin, watching snow slowly fall outside the window, slightly missing Rodger Day's crazy winter holiday antics. Things were a little lonely without that idiot.

Meanwhile, Tom usually went to the library most days with Peter to accompany him. He didn't really mind Peter following him around. Peter was the only one who he didn't have to put up as much of a front around. He was a nobody, the last name of their year, the spare nobody wanted. Peter had literally no influence and was too kind to give away Tom's most valuable secret. Tom need not worry about his cover ever being blown and he was the only one who honestly liked Frankie. She was at least better than that annoying trio, in Peter's opinion. They’d both even go down together to pick her up from Ogg’s cabin for supper, since they didn't have to be even somewhat of a secret.

It had been fun and once the long December had passed, January went just like that. February didn't start out bad; the 3rd was Frankie and Ethan's birthday. People always joked about how they were twins, despite not looking anything alike. However, moving further into February, it was unfortunately once again time for the most dreadful holiday they had to endure at school,

Valentine's Day.

Classes ended early for the day. There was way too much chaos to continue with them this year. The big thing causing all the fuss was what was already being referred to as the "The Fourth Year’s Four Founders" incident. In their year, four people had been slipped Transfiguration Truffles that would turn them into the animals their house represented. Prue Thompson accepted her transformation into an eagle with grace and levelheadedness, like she did with almost everything. Isabelle Lalonde was having a lot of trouble getting to class as a with her short badger legs, until Kenneth Cadwallader returned the favor from last Valentine's Day and carried her to class. Aidan parted the hall like the red sea as a majestic lion. He looked fearsome and strong, yet also had that warmth that if you sat next to him in History of Magic you'd want to cuddle in his mane and fall asleep. The last victim was Tom, he didn't know how, but whoever had planned all this had somehow got him. Tom was a small silvery serpent who wasn't able to travel down the hallway without some screams of terror and the risk of getting stomped to death. He would've barely made it to Transfiguration class alive if Aidan hadn't been going there as well. It was miraculous the four had even showed up to their classes at all. They couldn't even hold their wands and Aidan was the only one who was even able to carry his books.

As one of the obvious front runners for Gryffindor Prefects next year, Dumbledore requested that Frankie should be the one to escort them all to the nurse's office, while he went to alert the headmaster of the incident. Frankie grabbed the snake on the seat beside her and followed the lion out the door. They were running to History of Magic to get Prue and Isabelle, when Tom started complaining how Dumbledore was the Transfiguration teacher and should've just been able to transform them back no problem. However, Frankie and Aidan couldn't even understand him. It just came out as really angry hissing. They retrieved the badger and the eagle and made their way to the hospital wing. Aidan acted as transportation for Isabelle, while Frankie carried whatever they had managed to drag to class. Prue was perched on her shoulder and Tom wrapped around her neck, like a loose scarf. When they arrived at the hospital wing; Nurse Glinda took one look at them, and yelled,

_“You fucking idiotic kids! It’s too early in the morning for me to have to deal with this shit.”_

Nurse Glinda was one of the sweetest matrons ever. However, this day produced more incidents and injuries then an entire year’s worth combined. It put her a little over the edge. The girl and her four animal friends stared at her with traumatized expressions, while she just simply began getting the medicine ready like she hadn't said anything.

"You should all be fine in a few hours. Please stay here until you change back." Nurse Glinda explained, as she distributed doses to them. "You three stay in this bed and Mr. Potter, the floor if you would. I can't all give you separate beds on a day like this."

Isabelle hopped down off Aidan’s back and onto the bed, while Prue perched onto the metal frame of it and Aidan curled up on the floor. Nurse Glinda removed Tom from Frankie's neck, despite his reluctance to stay there, and set him on the pillow next to Isabelle. Frankie waved goodbye to them all and quickly left before the flood of students came in.

Classes got canceled after that. However, nobody but Frankie seemed to want to be hauled up in their room the rest of the day. Everyone else seemed stupid enough to roam the halls even after everything that had already happened.

"I'm not going anywhere."

"You didn't have such a bad time last year." Dylan protested. She was trying to get Frankie to come out for lunch, considering she'd skipped breakfast that morning. It wasn't safe to eat anything on Valentine's Day, apparently. There was no way Tom would've eaten chocolate today, let alone any day, and he was currently a snake.

"Well, last year two of my friends didn't get turned into animals. I've already had enough adventure for one day." Frankie argued. "Also, I still have Malfoy to worry about. You know he’s more determined than ever this year, after last year didn’t exactly go according to plan."

"Nothing is going to happen to you." she assured her. Dylan dragged Frankie towards the door and managed to get her all the way to the stairs, before Frankie gave up trying to dead weight the situation and just follow along obediently. The common room was already crowded with the usual Valentine's Day mayhem. Students in a gushy kind of fake love, a guy with a head as massive as a meteorite, some even had things like flowers protruding from their wrists and were vomiting rainbows. Frankie was regretting leaving the room more and more every second, as she and Dylan passed the pure chaos to the portrait hole.

This had only been the common room.

They walked out of the portrait hole leaving behind the common room. They weren't even able to get down one floor, before they came face-to-face with the one person Frankie did not want to see.

Abraxas Malfoy was grinning with a box of chocolate in hand, down at the middle of the three way intersection of stairs. Frankie tried to conceal herself behind Dylan, but it was no use. He had spotted her and the only other option was running. She went into a mad sprint down the stairs, straight passed him and up the set across the way. The last thing she wanted was him trying to drug her with another love potion. Quin took the fall last time, but he looked even more indomitable this year. Of course, he went after her. Thankfully, however, he was stopped as the staircase started moving toward the north wall. She quickly ran up the stairs and into the corridor.

She hadn't really been in this half of the seventh floor before. She hadn't a clue where she was going. No one ever went to this part of the seventh floor, unless you wanted to snog in a dark corner. She ran down the right corridor and turned into the left. There were hardly any rooms and the ones that there she found were all locked. Malfoy appeared at the end of the left corridor and she turned around but then stopped. It was a loop. If she ran to go back down the right, he could be there in a matter of seconds. She paced, not knowing what to do.

_I need a place to hide from Malfoy, I need a place to hide from Malfoy, I need a place to hide from Malfoy…_

A large door had appeared on the wall to her left. A door that hadn't been there the first and the second time she passed it. She didn't care where it had come from at the moment, though. It was probably her best chance at salvation, if it was unlocked. She hastily turned around and ran like she was going to go back down the right corridor and Malfoy took the bait and ran to meet her. However, she turned back around to open the mysterious door. She just opened it, ran inside, and slammed the door behind her. It was only when she had looked around did she realize where she was.

The Room of Requirement.                          

Frankie had read about it in _Hogwarts, A History_ , but never did she think she would be standing in the very room. The Room of Requirement is a room that only ever appears when someone is in very great need of it, and contains what that individual needs at that time. The room was stacked with piles of various objects, considering she didn’t need anything specific besides hiding. Anything you could ever think of and things you probably wouldn't ever think of were all lying in this room. She walked along a narrow to a stack of books around an old couch dusty velvet couch. All the books were definitely not titles you would see in the library. Frankie figured she might as well occupy the time, considering she might have to wait a while for Malfoy to give up. So, she picked up one of the nearby stack of seven and plopped down onto the couch.

_Secrets of the Darkest Art, page—_

Suddenly, she heard footsteps and the door had reappeared on the wall. She tried not to trip over strings of pearls and an entire tea set, as she went to hide behind a giant rook. The door opened to reveal Quin walking in with a confused expression.

"What are you doing here?" he questioned, looking at her unsuccessfully trying to hide from him behind a giant rook.

"Well, what are you doing here?"

"I just ran into this room on accident. Where are we?"

"It's called the Room of Requirement or, for us currently, the Room of Hidden Things. It's a secret room that only appears when a person is in great need of it. It turns into this room when someone needs to hide something." Frankie explained, as she came out of hiding. "I take it you also needed hiding, since we've both ended up here. Who are you hiding from?"

"Myrtle…" Quin replied, quietly. Myrtle Warren was a Ravenclaw girl in their year, with black pigtails and thick rimmed spectacles. She wasn't a very pleasant girl, exactly. Her attitude was pretty abrasive, despite how much she was teased by Olive Hornby and the Hufflepuffs in the year above them. She's had her eye on Quin ever since sometime in the second year, for no apparent reason. "What about you? Hiding from someone?"

"Malfoy…" she answered, with the same quiet voice and even a slight shiver.

"Well, I suppose we should stay in here a while. You know, to make sure they can't find us." Quin reasoned.

"Alright, I'll do anything to get out of the range of poison chocolate. Frankie answered, returning to the couch. "I wanted to read some of these books anyway..."

Frankie stayed on the couch to continue reading, while Quin went on to explore the room. She read along, while making sure she still heard Quin clunking around and knocking things over. There was a never-ending amount of space and, if she didn't keep somewhat of an eye on him, he would get lost too. However, he thankfully returned to her a few minutes later wearing a very old looking military jacket over his uniform.

"Honestly, you can read anytime. You should stop being such a bookworm for once!" Quin exclaimed, grabbing the book she was reading out of her hands.

"I can't help it. They don't have these kinds of books in the library." Frankie added, as she snatched the book back.

"So, just take a few of them with you. No one will notice." he insisted, pulling her up off the couch. "Come on, Frankie. Let's go exploring!"

"Fine." Frankie sighed, setting the book down on the stack. He wasn't going to budge and she had to admit she was a little curious to see what else was in there. The two set off deeper into the room past closets, stacks of chairs, different colored fuzz balls, and broken wands.

"What are you wearing?" she asked, suddenly noticing the dusty old military jacket.

"It's official 'Room of Requirement Adventuring Gear', duh." Quin answered, stopping and turning so she could see it at all angles, like some sort of high fashion model. He looked around at the surrounding piles, until he pulled out possibly the ugliest hat imaginable and stuck it on her head. It was giant, satin, magenta sun hat with mountains of white feathers and multicolor jewels stuck onto it.

"No wonder someone put this in here." Frankie laughed, as she tried to look up at it. She grabbed a velvet, emerald green cloak from another pile nearby and tied it around her to complete her adventure look.

"You look absolutely hideous." Quin smiled, like a proud father who had just taught his daughter a new skill. He went into another pile and pulled out a hat of his own. Unlike Frankie's hat, the old Trilby made him look like a real adventurer instead of some strange old witch.

"Maybe we should go back now," Frankie mumbled, looking off in the direction from which they came. Surely, the coast was clear by now. "It's been quite a while since—"

"Come on, you're a Gryffindor. Where's your sense of adventure?" he laughed, pulling her ahead.

"Alright. A few more minutes then..." Frankie smiled. She supposed they could probably stay a little longer. It was still day according to the windows next to them. They were already on the other side of the room, amazingly. Even though the door was somewhere in the middle, it still seemed pretty amazing.

It was like they spent days in the room. The two found rusted swords and had a swordfight, looked at the statues of old warlocks and bottles filled with mysterious liquids, climbed piles to try and get a better look at how far the room was actually stretched. Eventually, they arrived back at the old couch. Frankie took off the hideous jeweled sun hat and started to pick up the book stack of seven near the couch. They seemed to be the only ones near there that didn't have the titles printed on the covers and she was very curious to see what was in them. Quin had distracted her and she never did get into the first one, _Secrets of the Darkest Art_.

"Hopefully, we didn't stay out after hours," Frankie added, sounding worried. She remembered her and Rodger Day's final adventure. It had not ended well. He got canned by the caretaker and showed up to supper the next evening covered in bruises. "Pringle is going to get us."

"That git won't be able to catch us. You and I are unstoppable." Quin answered, confidently. She smiled at his stupidity and faith. It was kind of sweet today.

"Come on, let's get out of here."

The two walked out the door and down the corridor to the stairs. They could already see students on different staircases going down for supper. The Valentine's Day mayhem had subsided a lot by now. Frankie even saw Prue smiling and waving from a staircase across the way. They got a lot a few stares as they both were still wearing the cloak and the jacket. They didn't look too odd, considering there were people still under some effects of Valentine's Day. However, they definitely stood out a bit considering they were wearing something that was not uniform. Frankie got piled with questions about where she had been when she sat down at the next to her friends at Gryffindor table. She gave a look to Quin a look across the table, asking if she was allowed to tell. However, he returned with a shush and a wink. They should keep it a secret between the two of them. She nodded in agreement. The Room of Hidden Things should remain hidden. Frankie told them she was hiding out at Ogg's house.

After supper, she was slowly walking out of the Great Hall, examining the Slytherin table as she left. Did Tom make it out of the hospital wing alright? She couldn’t see him reading at the table like always in the cloud of Slytherin boys. Frankie had just turned back around when she saw Tom was actually walking towards her.

"Where have you been all day?" he asked, scanning her strange appearance with judgmental eyes. He hadn't seen her since she dropped him off in the hospital wing this morning and it looked like she had been busy since then. She was holding about six or seven books in her hand and was wearing a long cape around her neck.

"I was just in my room." Frankie answered, simply.

"You look strange for just being in your room…" Tom reasoned, sounding suspicious. She was lying, obviously. However, after his big lie at Christmas, did he really want to go calling her out on a lie? He was honestly still waiting for her to have known he was lying all along and call him out on it. It was better to just forget about it and continue to act like everything was normal. "Come on. I'll walk you back."

"Okay." she smiled.

Tom's eyes were fixed on the books in her arms, as they walked up to the seventh floor. He had never seen any of them before and the library had a checkout limit of four books at a time. Meanwhile, the old emerald cape looked like something that would have belonged to a Slytherin ages ago. He couldn't help but wonder to himself. Where could she have been?

"What is it, Tom?" Frankie asked. She had just noticed he had been staring at her, even though he'd been doing so for the past five minutes.

"It's nothing." Tom replied, quickly looking away.

"So, why weren't you at supper today?" she asked, in attempt to make conversation.

"I went to the trophy room to try to find if my father was somewhere in there." he admitted. Ever since hearing the Minister praising Frankie and her famous Auror parents at Slughorn's party, he couldn't take not knowing about his origins. He had been using a lot of his free time lately researching for any sign of his father in the magical world, but so far he had found nothing. Where exactly was that man hiding? Surely his father, Tom Riddle, had gone here and did something extraordinary. His father had to have been Head Boy or had gotten some sort of special award. He couldn't imagine that man being a failure. A coward, quite possibly, but not a failure.

"Did you find him?"

"No."

"I'm sure you'll find something eventually," Frankie added, reassuringly. "Are you sure your mother isn't the magical one?

"If she was magical, she wouldn't have just died like that…" Tom answered, like always when Frankie asked this question. They had arrived at the portrait of the Fat Lady. She and her friend, Violet, were laughing tipsily with a box of chocolate liquors between them. Frankie had to give her the password about four times before she let her in.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Tom." she waved, as she hopped into the hole.

"Yeah, sure." he sighed, waving goodbye as well. He had just spent most of his day as an animal with three people he could care less about and then went on yet another fruitless effort to find out about his past. The day had been had rotten as it had ever been. What a pointless waste of time.


	34. Right Back to Where We Started

The rest of the year went by quite nicely. No more maniacal holidays at least, besides April Fools' Day. Over the remaining months, Frankie had taken up to having tea with a lot of the teachers. They talked about their lives and their subjects, feeling they could trust her, and they of course had to tell her about her parents. Apparently, they all had stories about her parents that she needed to hear. Slughorn was actually in her parent's year at Hogwarts. Even though they were in separate houses and the fact her father and Ogg teased him a bit back in the day, he had nothing but lovely things to say about her mother. Apparently, she also was constantly harassed by a Malfoy and had the same philosophy that it didn't matter what house you were in. Slughorn warmed up a little more to her father after seventh year when he got serious and entered the Triwizard Tournament. He didn't really know them too well, but it was still nice to hear him talk about them.

Tom still spent most of his free time, over the remaining months, combing the library for a trace of his father. Past student records, Auror records, ministry officials records. Anything he could get his hands on, he even got Slughorn to write him passes for restricted section books, in the case his father was a dark wizard. It would make some logical sense of why he abandoned his mother if he was some dark wizard. Evil madmen couldn't love. Tom unfortunately had to give up the search completely around exam time. Exams were not especially hard, least for people who had actually studied like him and Frankie. However, it was not time to get overconfident. Next year they would be doing their O.W.L's. Frankie watched even Minerva sweat about it and she never worried about tests before. Thankfully, they'd have nothing better to do for the next three months at the orphanage.

As much as they didn't want it to, summer came back around and Tom and Frankie were forced to go back to Wool's Orphanage, as promised. It was an agonizing train ride to think that in a few hours they'd be going back to their old rooms and be living the same orphan life they had tried so desperately to escape. Mrs. Cole had been waiting at King’s Cross for them, acting even colder than usual, if that was even possible. Clearly, she was upset. Since Frankie wasn't on her way out of her life and she didn't have a big fat check in her hand. The doctor, Harry Fields, seemed to have called off the search and backed off the day they moved to the Leaky Cauldron. Tom must have told Dumbledore they were there, just like Tom had predicted he would and made the arrangements.

There was nothing that could be done. It was back to yet another miserable normal summer…

"What is that you're reading?"

Tom was trying to grab the book from her hand. The two sat at their table in the garden, reading whatever they had left of their books. Unfortunately, most of their school things had been locked away after what had happened when they left. They had only been able to sneak out a few books. Mrs. Cole had taken their wands the second they got back. After all this time, she refused to even think about the fact that they were wizards. Tom supposed it showed how ignorant muggles are to magic. Blinding themselves to it even when it's staring them in the face. Frankie tried to keep the book away from his boney skeletal hands, but it was no use. Tom had swiped it from her own hands with ease. It was a brown, leather bound book, whose title wasn't even written on the front. Of course, when he opened it he realized why. The title had been written on the first page.

_Dozens of Deadly Potions_

The book didn't even name the author. Of course, if they had wanted to be hunted down by the ministry for writing such a book they would have left their name. It was filled with explicated instructions and various ways on how to brew death in bottle.

"When did you become such a dark witch?" Tom inquired, flipping through the book. "Can we use some of these on _her_?"

"As much as I'd like to, she's the only one with the key to our stuff," Frankie replied, too much surprise. "Also, I am not a dark witch! I just found them somewhere…"

"Another one of your mystery books?" Tom inquired, curiously. She nodded silently. Eventually, he got her to spill a little bit about her Valentine's Day adventures. She was hiding in an unused classroom from Malfoy and found these set of books. They were all like this to his understanding. She seldom ever let him even near them, let alone read them. "I always thought you were a bit of a goody two-shoes. Turns out you're a natural at being evil."

Frankie grabbed Tom's nothing-of-interest book off the table and tried to smack him with it. She did not succeed though. He used her evil Potions book to shield himself from her sudden attack.

"You still need more practice." he laughed, with a slight smirk on his face. She cracked a slight smile and they exchanged each other's books back. Suddenly, the younger kids were coming up to them and pulling at Frankie to come and play with them. If something had changed being back at the orphanage, it was people's attitudes towards them. The others looked at them much more differently now than they used too. Most of the kids like Amy Benson and Billy Stubb were gone by now, as well as the rumors of what a pair of demons they were. They couldn't use their powers, so Tom had merely become a seemingly charming, yet slightly cold and angry, young man, while Frankie had become a kind and beautiful young girl.

"I thought I told you two to stay in your rooms!" Mrs. Cole appeared from the house and the kids dispersed from the table back into the house. Even they knew what was about to go down. She didn't like it when the kids clung to Tom and Frankie like older siblings. They were bad influences.

"Even prisoners get outside time, you know?" Tom stated, not looking up from reading his book to acknowledge her angry glare. "If were being forced to stay in this hellhole, you might as well let us be outside once in a while."

"Watch your mouth, Tom!" Mrs. Cole shouted back at his remark. "Honestly, you used to be a lot less trouble before _she_ got here. Oh, why did Mr. Fields have to withdraw last minute? Why couldn't she just have left with him?"

"I disagree, she keeps me intact. If she had actually left, you wouldn't be here either." Tom stated, calmly, still looking like he was more interested in his ‘nothing-of-interest’ book rather than this conversation. However, he looked up at her with one of his famous paralyzing glares, and added,

_“I would have made sure of it…”_

Mrs. Cole jumped back with the impact of his words. His voice had gone from calm and normal to serious and terrifying, in a matter of seconds. She gave the pair one last scowl before retreating back inside to safety.

"Did you really mean that?" Frankie asked, once she was sure Mrs. Cole was gone.

"Of course, wouldn't you want to get rid her too?" Tom replied, re-fixing his eyes back onto the book.

"I didn't mean that. I meant the part about me."

"I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it." He gazed up to acknowledge her, just for moment. She was slightly blushing and had a smile placed upon her face.

"I don't know how I could survive without you, either." she beamed back.

"Well, I'm not going anywhere. So, you don't ever have to worry about it." Tom replied, quickly pretending to return to the book and act like he didn't care. However, he was still watching her out of the corner of his eye. She rested her head on the table and gazed into the bushes. It seemed like it was only yesterday she had popped out of them and met him. That's why he had fought to stay here with her under the summer sun. The spot where they had met was the only part he actually liked about the orphanage.

They were eventually forced back into the house by Mrs. Cole. It was no use to try and stay out there all night. Tom would've done it just to piss her off, though. She sent them straight up to their rooms without supper, of course, after Tom's threat and their refusal to obey her. They were used to not getting meals by now, it was the third time this week and it was only Tuesday.

As it got later and later in the night, Tom finally heard the knock on his door he had been waiting for. Frankie had stopped having nightmares and merely started coming there randomly again. She was holding Rue and another one of the books she had found.

"I don't really enjoy this one." she stated, yet was still drowsily handing the book over to him. If she were in her right mind, she wouldn’t have let him touch it. However, half asleep she had no idea what she was doing and Tom’s curiosity about the books trumped his small sense of morality. This book's title read, _Most Macabre Monstrosities_.

"You don't really enjoy any of these." he reasoned. Although, Frankie enjoyed magical creatures, this book was not a pleasant representation of them. Tom flipped through the horrifying images, slightly wondering if whatever they had encountered in the Shrieking Shack third year would be in here, before he stopped on a random page.

_The Basilisk_

_Of the many fearsome beast and monsters that roam our land, there is none more curious or more deadly than the Basilisk, known also as the King of Serpents. This snake, which may reach gigantic size and live many hundreds of years, is born from a chicken's egg, hatched beneath a toad. Its methods of killing are most wondrous, for aside from its deathly and venomous fangs, the Basilisk has a murderous stare, and all who are fixed with the beam of its eye shall suffer instant death. Spiders flee before the Basilisk, their mortal enemy, and the Basilisk flees only from the crowing of a rooster, which is fatal to it._

"Even Hagrid wouldn't like this book." She pulled away the book from him, like he had stolen it, rather than she had given it to him.

"Hagrid?"

"Rubeus Hagrid. He's in my house, a couple years below us," Frankie explained. It made sense for Tom not to know him. "He's very tall and big. Of course, you would be to if you were half-giant—"She slammed her hands over her mouth. She wasn't supposed to tell anyone Hagrid was half-giant. He had accidently told her his first year and she was supposed to be keeping it a secret.

"He's half-giant?" Tom inquired, curiously. He vaguely remembered seeing Hagrid once, he was getting scolded by a professor for sneaking off to the Forbidden Forrest. Tom did think he was freakishly tall, but he didn’t ever think he was half-giant. Was that even possible?

"No, he isn't! I didn't say that."

"Don't try to lie to me."

"Alright he is, but you can't tell anyone. He says people in the wizarding world have a prejudice against people like him and he doesn’t want anyone at school to know.” Frankie admitted.

"I won't tell." It's not like he really had anyone to tell that would care. Tom thought it best they not read anymore of the disturbing book and to do something else rather than sleep. Suddenly, there was a low growl and they looked at each other, unsure about whose stomach it was. Tom grabbed the lantern off his desk and gestured for her to follow him. They quietly cracked open the door into the pitch black hallway and made their way downstairs to the kitchen. All he saw was a couple of jars of questionable jelly and a box of Saltine crackers. He took the box and hopped back down. They were probably the best thing you could get in the orphanage, especially since the food shortage from the war. He turned to leave with Frankie only to find the lantern left on the table. He grabbed the it and followed the sound within the silence. She was suddenly illuminated in light holding a board game box. It was Scrabble, the only board game Tom enjoyed playing. She was planning an all-nighter, obviously. They were too evenly matched. The game would go on forever…

The next morning Frankie woke up still in Tom's room. They were lying on the floor playing Scrabble and eating Saltines for only god knows how long, before they eventually both fell asleep. She quickly packed up the game and put it and the half-full box of Saltines under Tom's bed for later. Frankie walked over to the door to leave before Tom woke up, but the door would not open. She kept jiggling the knob, until all the noise began to wake Tom up.

"What are you still doing in here?" Tom asked, drowsily. Frankie usually didn't stay the night and if she did she usually was gone before he woke up. She was desperately trying to open his door with what looked like extreme difficulty.

"The door won't open." Frankie huffed, turning the doorknob over and over. Tom walked over to the door and jiggled the knob as well, swatting her hand away before she ended up breaking it off the door. She was probably just being too hasty. However, upon further attempts, Frankie was proven right. It would not open.

"Mrs. Cole must have locked it." he concluded, giving up on shaking it.

"She can do that?" she inquired, sounding surprised. Since, when did these doors have locks?

"She doesn't do it too often. However, she does have the power to," Tom explained. Mrs. Cole for some reason unknown to Tom never locked the rooms of the orphans, despite how cruel she seemed. He honestly thought it would've been the best solution to keep incidents from happening when he was younger. But it wasn't like he was ever going to tell her that. "She probably locked yours too, thinking you were in there."

"Why?"

"Probably just trying to keep us inside for the day. Don't worry, she'll have to let us out eventually…"

However, a little while later, they could hear different voices traveling up the stairs and it was clear why she had wanted to keep them locked in their rooms. Today was yet another showing day and, rather than hide them, she must've been intending to trying to sell them off this time. There was a knock on the door and, even though he had not given consent to enter, Mrs. Cole unlocked the door and opened it.

"Tom, I have some— "she paused only for a moment, as she stared at Frankie sitting beside him on the bed. Her brow furrowed, but she surprisingly still kept her composure. "What is she doing in here?"

"You locked her in."

"That's not possible unless she and you have been…" A fifteen year-old boy and girl meeting late at night could apparently only mean one thing…

"Of course, that's exactly what happened," Tom replied, immediately picking up what she was thinking. If he played along, he'd be able to put a stop her stupid misguided plans to sell them off for good. "She always is coming over in the middle of the night. What would you expect?"

"You mean to tell me this has happened more than once!" Mrs. Cole shrieked.

"That's right. We've being doing this ever since we were thirteen," Tom said. What he was saying wasn't really lying. It just wasn't explaining the truth fully. She was a sick, narrow-minded muggle. It was her fault for assuming he was doing something impure with her late in the night. "Although, after our little runaway adventure, needless to say it's becoming quite more of a regular affair.”

Mrs. Cole looked taken aback with disgust. It was just Tom thought, she had been thinking of something different that the two were doing in his room alone in the middle of the night. Tom didn't care what she thought, though. All that he cared about that there was a group of muggles standing in the doorway listening.

" _You_! Get back to your room!" she hissed, angrily. She wouldn't even give Frankie time to grab her book, before she yanked her out of the room by her wrist. Frankie just looked confused as Mrs. Cole unlocked her door and shoved her back inside her own room, trying to ignore all the people staring down at her with looks of judgment. No one would want them now.

As you could imagine, after that little incident Mrs. Cole used their keys a lot more often and went back to hiding them from potential parents. It would seem Tom's lying had worked yet again. Of course, it backfired a bit not being able to see Frankie. The two were locked up for the rest of the summer and Mrs. Cole even canceled the annual trip to the country side, just so they couldn't be together. However, they did find ways to talk to each other and relieve the many days of boredom. Thankfully, they at least had windows that she couldn't lock and an everlasting supply of Flitwick's Fantastic Floating Parchment.

Mrs. Cole was unfortunately forced to let them back out when they had to go shopping for school supplies. It was a morning in late August when she reluctantly opened up the doors. They had four hours, at most. If they weren't back before then, there would somehow be even more consequences.

"I've missed you." Frankie whispered, as she met Tom in the foyer. She knew Mrs. Cole was watching them, so she couldn’t say too much, but she would risk telling him that much.

"Likewise, now let's get going before she realizes we could go shopping on different days." Tom whispered back.

"I heard that, Tom!" Mrs. Cole hissed from behind them.

"Run for it..."

The two tore off running down the street, as far as they could go until they eventually reached Leicester Square. They'd almost forgotten what it was like to be back in the more city part of London. Many buildings and landmarks were destroyed, what were once urban basements were now inner-city pig farms, and disused roof-top spaces into allotments for growing vegetables and flowers, to ease the problems of the food shortage. All notions of class related entertainment and social etiquettes were usurped. The city was still pretty trashed from the Blitz and they even still had to wear gasmasks for precaution.

"Maybe if we're lucky they'll drop a bomb on the orphanage, while we're at school next time." Frankie reasoned, as they stopped to dawn their masks.

"Wishful thinking, darling." Tom sighed. He finished with his mask and helped her with hers. Then, once they were both decent enough not to get stopped by guards, Tom took her hand and they briskly started heading towards the Leaky Cauldron. They looked like a creepy couple, wearing their gasmasks and holding hands. But then again, so did everyone else in the city. They shuffled into the Leaky Cauldron a few minutes later, making sure to keep on going straight to the alleyway and not get stopped by…

"Nice disguises, but I can still tell it's you two." Tom chuckled. You could hear an amplified sigh before Tom removed his mask. He definitely didn't want to have to face the landlord, after he had sold them out to Dumbledore. However, it didn't look like he had a choice anymore.

"We weren't trying to hide," Tom lied. "Apparently, the muggles are still warring. It's been like three years. I thought this would all be resolved by now."

"Consider yourself lucky you're not in it, boy. If you weren't a wizard off at Hogwarts, you'd be fighting in this war." Tom added. Frankie clutched Tom's arm tighter, like just by saying that he would be drafted. However, Tom remained expressionless. Even if he wasn't a wizard, he was not afraid of the war.

"Are there wizards in the war?" Frankie asked, finally remembering to take off her mask as well.

"Who knows? Probably some decided to go. It's not like they can use their magic though, so I can't imagine why they would." Tom answered, simply.

"Well, this is been a lovely conversation, but we have to go to Diagon Alley now." Tom added, hastily. He couldn't stand this any longer. It was weird and painfully awkward. Tom was pulling Frankie towards the alley, until he forgot that they needed the other Tom, and had to stop and further make the situation more awkward. "We don't have our wands with us. We'll need your assistance..."

"See you two later then…"

He didn't even deserve to get a goodbye, apparently. Tom had tapped the bricks for them and the two set off into the busy alley immediately. Unlike London, Diagon Alley had no notions of a war going on. It looked the same as it did when they first saw it four years ago. The same old shops, the same old people, even the same weather. Sunny August sun, even when in the muggle world it was muggy and cloudy. As for the same people, it was a little more understandable. Hogwarts kids shrouded the place this time of year. Although, Tom would've liked to keep holding her hand, they were now in a place that he was not supposed too. Just as he was about to let her go, yet still telling her to remain close so she wouldn't get lost, the crowd ripped her from him. She was pulled back into the crowd, while the flow of the crowd pushed him forward. What he wasn't able to go back and see was that it hadn't been the crowd's doing. A certain blonde haired individual had grabbed her hand and pulled Frankie back with her.

"Dylan!" Frankie exclaimed, giving her a hug. Thankfully, it was her, rather then what could've possibly been Malfoy. They moved off to the side of the flow, so they could continue with their reunion and start on the summer stories. "I'm sorry I haven't replied to your last letter. Congratulations on making Prefect!"

"Thank you! I'm honestly so surprised it wasn't you, though."

"It's alright. I'd make a terrible Prefect, anyway. I don't have an authoritative bone in my entire body. Tom made it, though."

"That's great news! Where is he anyway?" Dylan asked, looking around. The princess would never come unaccompanied without her faithful escort. Since they were not at school, if one was here, the other was nearby.

"Oh, I lost him," Frankie stated, looking off into the crowd. She didn't want to say Dylan ripped her right out of his hand. It'd begin more insinuations, when they had valid reasons for holding hands. Getting lost being, one of them. "He's going to get angry at me…"

"Frankie!" Another strangely familiar voice had exclaimed from the crowd. However, it had not been Tom's voice. Just like the year before, Quin had appeared from out of nowhere. Frankie gave a small wave, while Dylan let out an exasperated sigh. Both living in Godric's Hollow, he had most likely been one of her escorts. She had probably just lost him and the other two.

"What is that thing?" he asked, his eyes immediately focused on the gasmask hanging off Frankie's arm as he walked up to them.

"It's a gasmask. Haven't you seen one before?"

"I can't say I have." As someone who doesn't pay attention in Muggle Studies and is Pureblood, it figures he didn't have much knowledge about muggle inventions. However, Frankie had the small theory that they all frightened him, considering his fear was the most terrifying of them all. In third year, when they had to face the Boggart, it turned into a gun. It shot five, very real, bullets before he was able to mutter the counter curse. Thankfully, the class was able to dodge them all, but Quin still held a look of pure terror like it had successfully shot everyone. He didn't pay attention in Muggle Studies for a reason. The mask was obviously muggle and that look was how he was looking at it.

"Well, it's a mask that people where so they don't breathe in harmful gases." Frankie explained, trying to keep a cheerful tone and erase his terrified expression. It really was a good thing, despite how creepy it looked.

"Why do you have it then? Are you okay? What's going on?" Quin asked her, franticly. Why would she need something like that?

"I'm fine, Quin. Calm down. It's back in the muggle world. The world is at war."

"I didn't know it was still so bad in London. Are you going to be okay living there for the rest of the summer? You could always come stay with me." Dylan offered. Quin nodded in agreement. Obviously, she shouldn't stay in such a place. She should stay in Godric's Hollow with them. That’s where she belonged.

"Thank you, but I'll be fine." Frankie replied. As nice as it'd be to not be at the orphanage and a city in ruin for a week, there was no way she could leave Tom. Speak of the devil, she could faintly here him calling her name. She turned to find him off to the side across the way, gesturing her to come there. "Tom's calling me back. We've got to go now, but I'll see you both at school."

"How come he's always with her, Dylan?"

Quin was watching her run off to him for what felt like the billionth time. Every time he pulled her back to him. Tom always got to be with her, especially here. It was like they always came here together, like he did with Dylan, Aidan and Ethan. He always did wonder about Frankie's past with that guy, she really hadn’t ever told him. Apparently, they had met before school. That was the only reason she saw past his rotten Slytherin attitude, Quin was sure of that. But how much longer was that, really? Technically, Quin knew her longer. She didn't realize it, and Dylan forbid them from mentioning it, but she had a past with him too. A past with him Aidan, Dylan, and Ethan back in Godric’s Hollow. It wasn't too much of a past, but surely it was stronger than whatever she and Tom had.

"Idiot…"Dylan muttered, catching on to his train of thought. He was thinking about the past. The reason she told them not to mention their previous connection to Frankie was because her mind was fragile and it was nothing really. Aidan and him always did think more of it. Some kind of cosmic connection to her. "This is why he's winning, you know"

The moment Tom and Frankie got back from shopping, their new things were taken and shoved into the cupboard under the stairs. Then, they were shut away again until school as well. Thankfully, it wasn't as long isolation this time. In a week, they were once again reunited and this time they had their wands and all their magic stuff back. Tom had his wand back in his hand and the first thing he wanted to do was hex Mrs. Cole. However, he restrained the urge. Once he was seventeen, he would once again be able to use his magic in this world and she would get what was coming to her.

"Have a good time at school." Mrs. Cole exclaimed, with a faux-smile. The two were slightly stalled by all the kids wanting to genuinely wish them a good time at school, when she and the workers came to see them off.

"Don't worry, we will." Tom smiled, sarcastically, back. He slammed the door behind them and the two left for King's Cross Station. They went at a fast pace so they would not miss the train, after all those grubby little children who just had to say goodbye had made them leave later then usual. Frankie didn't need to push her cart at top speed, violently through the crowds of muggles, like in years before. This time it was emptier, not many people had money to afford a train ticket anymore. The same large guard was now a sort of ticket checker. Tom made sure they stayed at a far distance, so he wouldn't ask to see theirs. He'd toss them out if he saw a ticket that said Platform 9 ¾. It was putting a whole new level to his least favorite ‘prank’. They soon arrived at the pillar at the end of a line of first years going in with their parents. After them, was Frankie. Her method, after their first year, was running straight through with a smile on her face and her hazel eyes wide open. No fear or hesitation whatsoever. Tom, on the other hand, had developed a different approach. A deep breath, eyes bolted shut, and charging ahead no matter how stupid he found running at a solid brick pillar.

Tom ended up on the other side, like always, next to the scarlet red steam engine. Frankie was leaned up with the same ‘told-you-so’ expression, knowing his hidden fear of crashing straight into the solid wall. They boarded the train and settled in a compartment to wait for the start of their journey. One look of that train and that expression and the feeling kicked in. They were finally going home, again.

"Looking through those old photos again?" Tom inquired, sitting down in his usual seat across from her. Frankie had put some of the photos she had taken from her old house in her bag for the trip. She liked looking at them in her free time. It made her feel closer to those people she called her parents.

"And you haven't? You look through them more than I do and they're my parents." she argued. Sometimes she caught him looking through them, as if searching for something secret hidden in each of them.

"Some of them are intriguing," he replied, taking the stack to show her. Tom shuffled through the stack to see if she still had the most intriguing. She might've thrown it out considering how useless it looked. But sure enough she was smart enough to keep it. "This one in particular."

"The Chamber of Secrets?"

"It feels familiar for some reason." Perhaps it was just because he had looked at that flash of image several hundred times, but it felt like he had been there. He had been standing against the snake pillars, looking up at the statue of the man. Then, everything went dark, like he forgot he needed to keep his eyes shut for some reason.

"We can ask Dumbledore or Slughorn when we get back. Surely, one of them will know…"

After what seemed like a long, endless journey they finally arrived at the station in Hogsmeade. The doors opened and everyone shuffled onto the platform, quickly trying to grab their things and make it onto one of the first carriages. Frankie didn't rush, she liked getting to see all the Thestrals at work, and Tom didn't particularly care, despite wanting to get back to Hogwarts. However, they could never ride together, except for last year when Dumbledore needed to talk to them, giving someone else the perfect opportunity. Somehow, she and Quin ‘randomly’ ended up on the same carriage almost every year. So, Tom got in the second to last of the carriages, with the Slytherin boys who had waited with him. He usually liked to be off before them, so at least he wouldn't have to follow behind them the whole way feeling like he wanted to vomit.

Quin and the rest of the group got in the last carriage, while Frankie stalled them at the front, "I wish you could see them. They're such magnificent creatures." Frankie smiled, petting the snout of the Thestral. She looked insane to everyone else. Frankie had yet to meet someone else that could see them.

"Are you sure your dad isn't actually Professor Kettleburn?" Quin laughed, waving his arm in front. Frankie giggled at his arm flailing, knowing he was nowhere near the invisible creature. He stopped flailing his arms to offer her one to help her up into the carriage and she accepted.

Meanwhile, Tom was just arriving, looking up at the gargantuan castle with somewhat of a smile. Finally, he was back in a place where he was not being imprisoned. He felt it was somewhat empty without Frankie with him, though. She should've been here to welcome him back home, they should’ve arrived back at their home together. Perhaps, he should casually walk a little slower. However, the moment he decided on it, his body just stopped completely. It was a like a sharp sudden pain shot right through him and he collapsed onto the ground. It hurt so much it felt like his forehead was going to crack open. Then, he heard a hissing, venomous voice,

_Master…_

"Tom, are you alright?"

Frankie had just appeared from the main gate and had frantically gone running to his side the second she saw him kneeled on the ground in agony. She was beginning to help him up, when he slapped her hands away. They were in public and her carriage was still in the hall, along with some stragglers who had waited for their friends. As much as he didn't want to, he had to push her away.

"I'm fine. I just got dizzy for a second." he replied, yet he put his hand his head. His head was still throbbing. What the hell was that? Frankie looked down at him with worry, before Dylan came over and led her back into the flow entering the Great Hall. Tom and Dylan exchanged mutual looks of understanding. He could always count on her to take Frankie away when he did not want her. Whatever had just happened, whatever that had been, it was gone now. It was best not to fret over nothing. It was time to join the Slytherin table as leader of the fifth years and the newest Prefect. It was where he belonged.


	35. The Second of the Founders

_"Come to me master. We must get rid of those who are so unworthy…"_

Tom suddenly sprung up from a deep sleep. It was only a couple weeks into the new term and odd things were starting to happen to him. Firstly, the voice he had heard when he had first arrived at school hadn't just gone away like he thought it would. Tom naturally assumed it was just another one of Peeve’s pranks at first, but then the voice started to seep into his dreams. Sometimes he would just be walking in the corridors and it would randomly seep into his mind saying creepy things that didn't make sense to him. He’d go to the hospital wing, if he didn’t think that it’d get him a one way ticket to St. Mungos. Even in the wizarding world, hearing voices wasn’t a good sign.

Secondly, the backdrop of the voice while he was dreaming was the Chamber of Secrets. Tom was walking amongst the snake pillars to look upon the gargantuan statue of a man he didn’t know. It was always like he’d been there several times before, rather than catching a mere glimpse of the room in an old photograph and it became more lifelike every night. The smell of sewer water, the damp muggy air, the click of his shoes on the wet stone floor. He could always hear the voice as clear as day, however, it always hid in the shadows just beyond his gaze.

"Did you say something?" Tom asked Peter, who was the only one in the room that was not currently face down in a pillow taking advantage of the Saturday. He already knew Peter was not the source of the voice, though. Tom was their leader, but none of them would ever call him "master" like that.

"No." Peter replied, looking at him with confusion. Tom had just been in a dead slumber. If he had said something, how could Tom even have heard him? Not to mention all the talking Tom had been doing. "You were talking in your sleep again, though. Parseltongue..."

"Forget it." Tom fumed, pulling off the sheets to start getting ready. He had somewhere he needed to be. There was no time to be worrying about this now. "I'm heading out. Speak of this to no one..."

The Chamber of Secrets, his past, and the voice. He felt like they were all connected somehow. He just needed to figure out how. Hopefully, where he was going there would be some answers. Tom was walking through the corridors at a fast pace, hoping he would not be ambushed by one of the annoying first years, like Eileen Prince, who saw the Prefect badge and immediately had a billion stupid questions that he'd have no choice but to answer.

"Hello, Tom. Are you busy?"

At first Tom thought a freshman had even dared to call him by his first name and turned with a tremendous glare to see which one had dared. Not even the people in his year addressed him by Tom, most of the time. However, he turned around to find it wasn’t even a student at all. Professor Slughorn was trudging towards him, smiling and waving, while still trying to hold onto all his books and scrolls at the same time.

"Not at all, sir." Tom lied, his expression instantly softening and running to help him with some of his things. Whatever it was that Slughorn wanted him to do, his plans for investigation would just have to be put on hold. He could not deny his most favorite teacher, who just also happened to be most influenced one as well.

"Then, would you like to come have tea with me in my office."

"Of course, sir."

Tom slightly wondered what Frankie was doing at this moment. Slughorn usually asked her to tea. Was she busy? They walked to Slughorn's office, making idle chatter on the most recent lessons and potions. Naturally, Frankie came up as well, along with the reason why she wasn't able to come to tea this morning. Apparently, she was busy studying in the library. Which made Tom regret saying yes to Slughorn's invitation, considering that's where he had been heading originally.

"So, Frankie has been telling me you've been quite busy with research of sort." Slughorn added, after mentioning her studying in the library.

"Y-yes, sir. I'm trying to find my father and…"Tom stammered, nervously. He had caught him a little off guard. Was that really the sort of thing him and Frankie talked about? How much had she told him? Surely not much, considering he hadn't told her much about the other thing he was searching for in his research. She didn't know that he was also curious about the Chamber of Secrets and he believed it had something to do with his past. Tom silently debated whether to tell Slughorn about his interest in the chamber or not. Slughorn was one of the more knowledgeable teachers. He could tell him what he needed to know, if he played his cards right. "Sir, forgive me for the imprudent question, but do you know anything about the Chamber of Secrets?"

"The Chamber of Secrets? It's said to be a chamber hidden within the school that Salazar Slytherin left behind." Slughorn answered, simply. It was about as informative as all the books he had read on the subject. However, that was the teacher censored answer. He needed something more and he figured Slughorn had more to tell him.

"Does it actually exist?"

"The school has been searched by the teachers many times and no such thing has ever been found. But…"

"But? But, what?" Tom inquired, sounding a little too desperate to hear the answer.

"They didn't have the smarts of Albus Dumbledore and Elizabeth Broad." Slughorn whispered. It was obviously some kind of big reveal if he felt the need to whisper it in his own office, like someone else was listening in. Tom just didn't understand what it was supposed to mean, though.

"Dumbledore and Frankie's mum?" Tom questioned, for once not faking his confusion, like he usually did in conversations such as this. What did they have to do with anything? "They were both in Gryffindor. How could they be able find the Chamber of Secrets? Surely, Salazar Slytherin of all people would make it impenetrable to Gryffindors."

"I'm not sure if they ever did find it. I wasn't allowed to be in the club, but I'm sure they got a lot closer than anyone else."

"A club? Why weren't you allowed in the club? You're plenty smart, professor." Tom remarked, with a sort of flattery he knew Slughorn wouldn’t be able to tell was fake, even though it was obvious.

"Ha, ha, why thank you, Tom. Elizabeth still confided a few things in me, but they really only wanted the Heir of Slytherin and the rest of the four founders." Slughorn laughed.

"Heir of Slytherin?"

"A sort of nickname Salazar Slytherin's descendants have been known to be called." Slughorn explained.

"And who is taking up this nickname currently, professor?" Tom asked, trying to sound casual. If the Heir of Slytherin was who he needed to find the Chamber of Secrets, he'd have to start looking right away. Hopefully, it was someone currently in the school and who could be easily swindled into helping him. A girl would be ideal.

"It's hard to tell. It was rumored to be Cora Gaunt, back in our day, when they were searching. However, the Gaunts have mostly died out, trying to keep their blood purity."

"So, there aren't any more Heir of Slytherin?"

"I'm afraid not. If there are any left, the family name must've changed with marriage." Slughorn answered. He eyed Tom with a bit of suspicion. "This is all hypothetical, of course. You're not attempting to go looking for such a place, now, are you?"

"Of course not, sir. Professor Binns just wasn't giving me much history of the school." Tom smiled, charismatically. "I was just being curious…"

He then ‘suddenly remembered’ that he had to go do some studying in the library as well. So, Tom excused himself and hastily retreated. As he was rushing down the corridor, he took the small stack of photos from his pocket and began to sift through them to find one in particular. He had taken the most intriguing of Frankie's parent's photos, even though he knew how often she was looking through them. They were, however, the ones he was sure she wouldn't know were missing. To her they meant practically nothing. Sure enough, he had stolen the one of Cora Gaunt. It was a picture of a dark haired girl, glaring at the camera, crossing her arms and telling whoever was holding it to turn it off. The back read, " _Cora being camera shy_ ". It looked like a normal shot of a girl, but it was the color of her tie that intrigued him. The photo was black and white, however, you could tell it was a different shade then the ones on Frankie's parents. He didn't like when people judged him and Frankie by their houses, but he couldn't help but wonder why she'd be with them. She couldn't have wanted to help them find her ancestor's secret chamber and there was no way she'd be their friend. Prejudice was a whole lot stronger back then, if you could believe it. So, why go anywhere near them? What was her angle?

Questions that would have to be answered in a different trip to the library. Right now was dedicated to the other subject of his research.

Tom was still in search for his father and, after a summer of isolation, it was time to get back to his extensive search. He would often go to the library on Saturdays, spending his time searching through books and books for anything about another Tom Riddle. There seemed to be absolutely nothing about his father or any other Riddle for that matter. Tom was starting to think that his father wasn't a wizard at all or perhaps Tom was… _Muggle-born._ He always immediately shook the thought from his head. There was no way he could be a Mudblood. Tom despised muggles more than anything, making his hatred of muggle-borns just the same. The concept of a child just having magic without any wizarding blood in the family made him furious for some reason, even though for years he always thought that what he was. That was before he learned about this world. He had been placed in Slytherin house and, considering the founder of their house hated muggle-borns too, he was pretty sure they weren't allowed in this house. His father must have been in one of these books somewhere...

"What are you doing?"

He had been too busy thinking to realize that someone else had joined him at the table. Frankie was in the chair across from him, leaning over the table, mere inches from him, reading his book upside down, and he hadn't noticed. He recoiled in shock and almost slammed her face shut it the book. She retrieved her book off the table and got up to talk to him properly.

"I'm just doing a bit of extra research." Tom answered, vaguely. He hadn't told Frankie about his Saturday trips to the library. She looked down at the book of wizard records that filled the vagueness of his words and received her answer.

"Me too." She held an Auror record book in her arms and, being in the same year in Defense Against the Dark Arts, he knew it wasn't research for a project.

"You've already found your parents. No need to be checking records, as well."

"I just thought you could use some help." Frankie added, with a small smile. "Have you fou—"

"No." he answered, before she could even finish. They had this conversation many times before and it always went the same way.

"Are you sure it's not your mo—"

"I'm positive!" Tom snapped, immediately. Why must she always insist on it being his mother? That weak and vile wretch of a woman. If had been his mother, surely she would still be alive. Frankie did not get angry by his attitude, as usual, but instead said the simplest thing he dared to forget. A detail he had seemed to overlook so many times it made even him feel foolish.

"Have you tried your middle name?"

The only peculiarly uncommon thing about his name was the middle of it. Marvolo. He started flipping through books with this new keyword in mind and sure enough he found it in several different families. However, he chose to pick the one where it appeared most frequently, considering it was probably a name that was supposed to be passed down. The name appeared many times among a grand family tree of, coincidentally, the Gaunts.

There was no sign of any Riddles. He looked towards the ends, around the late 1800's to early 1900's. Surely enough, uncle of Cora Gaunt, the last Marvolo Gaunt was born around that time. The branch ended with him and his two children Morfin and Merope. Morfin was still presently alive, however Merope was already gone. His eyes were suddenly glued to her dates immediately and his heart stopped.

Merope Gaunt had died December 31st, 1926.

She was his mother, she just had to be. It was too much of a coincidence to not be. Her father was named Marvolo and she died the day he was born. His eyes seemed to regain the ability to move again and he began to sift down now deeper into the tree. All his family had been wizards. His father must've actually been a muggle, considering there was no record whatsoever of him or his linage, and his mother was a witch. He would have been a pureblood to if it wasn't for his wretched muggle father. The name Peverell stuck out for that's as far as the tree went. It seemed familiar. He had been so focused that he didn't notice Frankie was reading along across the table again. She suddenly got up and started searching the bookcases. Quickly, she pulled a book out with a satisfied look on her face. Whatever she was looking for she had found it. She set it down in front of him on the table. The title read _The Most Powerful Wizarding Families_. It didn't take him long to find the Peverells in this book. Almost the whole thing was about them, but that didn't matter. The first couple of sentences said all he needed to know.

" _The Peverell family was filled with some of the most powerful witches and wizards of their time. Their great power was most likely to come from their ancestors. It is known for certain that they were direct descendants of Salazar Slytherin, one of the four Hogwarts founders…"_

He had been keeping it in the back of his mind, just in case Slughorn's information had been a little faulty. However, this was written confirmation that the Gaunts were decedents of Salazar Slytherin. He was a Gaunt, which meant he was a decedent, the Heir of Slytherin. It made sense, now that he thought about it, considering he was the only one that he knew of who could speak Parseltongue in Hogwarts. Everyone knew that the only other person who walked these halls that could speak Parseltongue was Salazar Slytherin. He was filled with a huge sense of pride now. Finally, he knew about his family and he was not just ordinary.

"That's interesting." It was all Frankie could muster to say. Tom had forgotten she was here. She had read the book before and knew what it meant.

"Yes." he replied, simply. She looked extremely uncomfortable. Did she find it somewhat odd? After learning about Frankie's lineage and always wondering about how far the Gryffindor and Slytherin rivalry really went back, he had decided to read up on the founders more. Their ancestors had been mortal enemies. At a different time they had been friends, perhaps even best friends, but that soon changed with the disagreement on the students admitted to the school. They were the reason the houses never would get along. Did that mean they were actually fated to become enemies as well? She was clearly thinking about it.

"Are you really sure that's your mother?" she asked, suddenly.

"Yes," he answered, closing _The Most Powerful Wizarding Families_ to look down at her name again in the first book. "I'm certain this is her."

"How do you know?"

"It makes sense! I know you don't want to believe it, but it all makes sense,” Tom snapped, angrily. “You know they don’t matter anymore. They were way before our time."

"Well, I'm glad you finally found something," Frankie smiled. It would seem looking like he didn't care about his past calmed her down a bit. However, he knew her better. She was retreating. "I have to go now, but I'll see you tomorrow."

She was gone before Tom could even say goodbye. He could sense she wasn't really alright with this. There was something wrong with her and he once again felt the need to fix her. Tom ditched the books and started to run down the corridor after her. Then, the sharp pain in his head and he was forced to stop in his tracks. It was the voice.

" _You realize who you are now, right? Come to the Chamber of Secrets. It is time."_

Tom's feet moved of their own accord and ended up taking him to the girl's bathroom one floor down. Apparently, this was the location of the Chamber of Secrets. God, was his ancestor a pervert or something? Why would he hide his secret chamber in the girl's bathroom, out of all the places in this vast castle he could've put it? He didn't want to go in there. It would look wrong for a boy, especially one who was a Prefect, to be found going into the girl's bathroom. Luckily, there weren't any girls in there at the moment. Tom slowly walked over to the sinks and looked around. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He tried turning on the sinks. Nothing happened, so he turned them all off again. This must have been some kind of joke. He was starting to walk away when he spotted a tiny snake on the side of one of the taps. After that, the words just seemed to fall out,

" _Open up_."

The sink glowed brightly and moved out of sight, leaving a large exposed pipe in its place. Was he supposed to go down that? It felt weird, but it's not like he was just going to walk away after coming in here. He slowly lowered himself into the pipe and slid down. The slide seemed like it was endless, slimy journey, but eventually he made a crash landing on the damp floor.

" _Lumos_ _!"_ Tom whispered, into the darkness. His wand illuminated to show a sickly scene. The walls were covered in green slime and the floor was hardly seen under the layer of animal bones. He tried to not scrunch up in disgust at the sight of it all and begin to walk down the long tunnel. Turn after turn, the voice was getting louder.

" _Nearly there to finally take your place as heir."_

"Show yourself!" he shouted, flourishing his illuminated wand. There nothing but a ghostly silence now. Whatever the voice actually was, it was waiting for him to come to it. Tom sighed and continued down the never-ending tunnel, eager to just get to the end and find the chamber in his dreams and the source of the voice. Finally, he arrived at a wall with two entwined serpents carved into it. They had quite life-like glistening emerald eyes, but alas they were just stone. The voice was behind the wall and it wasn't a mystery what he had to do to get behind it.

" _Open_ _!"_ Tom hissed, in Parseltongue. The serpents parted as the wall cracked open and the halves slid out of sight. He was now standing at the end of a very long, dimly lit chamber, with towering stone pillars entwined with more carved serpents rose to support a ceiling lost in darkness. It was just like in his dreams. He raised his wand and cautiously moved further, keeping his eyes peeled for the smallest sign of movement. The source of the voice was here, yet suddenly all that could be heard was his own footsteps echoing off the grim walls. Tom soon reached the end and stood at the gray feet of a statue high as the chamber itself. It was him, Salazar Slytherin.

So, he was here. Where was this _thing_ that was calling him?

Suddenly, sound emanated throughout the chamber, like something slithering upon the damp pavement. He looked around wildly around at the serpent pillars, but all of them were still securely stationed as they had been for the past several thousand years.

" _Finally, you've arrived. I've been waiting all this time…"_ the voice hissed, sounding closer than ever. Tom saw a flash of, bright, poisonous green, beginning to slither out of the shadows and immediately shut his eyes. He knew what it was now. _"Even though you are my master, I suggest you don't look into my eyes, unless you wish to meet a most horrible demise."_

" _I already know,"_ Tom replied, a bit too arrogantly for a fifteen year old boy talking to an ancient monster. Yes, he was going through a small growth spurt, but it wasn't anywhere near a fifty foot long one. _"You're a Basilisk aren't you? That why I've been able to hear you."_

" _Clever boy, as expected of the Heir of Slytherin,"_ the Basilisk said, sounding somewhat impressed. _"I've brought you here so we can finally complete Salazar's noble work."_

" _What would that be?"_

" _To purge the school of muggle-born and return Hogwarts to a school of blood purity."_

" _Now, why would I do that?"_ Tom inquired _._ It was a kind of a big request, considering this was their first meeting. It was practically telling Tom to commit murder and this was their only conversation thus far.

" _It is Salazar's wish."_ the Basilisk replied, simply, as if that were enough. Of course to a loyal creature, it was enough. However, Tom was always the skeptical type. The Basilisk could sense it with the long pause and no answer.

" _Surely, you can't want a bunch of filthy Mudbloods in the school, if you're really descended from my previous master. All you have to do is call me when you find one and I shall eliminate it."_ the Basilisk reasoned, like it was as simple as making toast.

Tom thought about it. He didn't know many muggle-borns and it's not like he exactly cared for them. In fact, they made him ill. They really were just an eyesore to the school. It wouldn't matter if they were to all just disappear. It would probably even make things better. He was starting to see things the Basilisk's way. However, Tom also didn’t want to find out what would happen to him if he said no.

" _Alright. I will honor my ancestor's wish and purge this place of muggle-borns, as the Heir of Slytherin."_ Tom answered, finally. The Basilisk let out what was hopefully a delighted hiss and Tom was free to start getting to work.

After following some promising looking stairs, Tom appeared on the other side of the sinks a few minutes later. He turned on the sink as soon as the stairs transformed back, and started to try and clean himself up a little bit. He was definitely going to need to wash his uniform five times, at least.

"Who's there?" a voice asked, suddenly, from the other side.

Tom ducked behind the sinks. He assumed there had been no one here when he went in and there would be no one when he came back. How much had the girl seen? However, as he was busy worrying about being seen, he didn’t notice that the girl was leaning over the sinks staring down at him. "Tom? You do know this is the girl's restroom, don't you?"

He looked up and there was Frankie hovering above him. Out of all the people he didn't want to catch him going into the girl's bathroom, she was most certainly the first.

"Is it? I had no idea." Tom replied, feigning stupidity and clumsiness.

"We've been going to this school for five years. How could you not know?" she asked.

"It's not like I keep tabs on all the girls' bathrooms!" he argued, sounding affronted by her accusations.

"Even if you didn't know this was the girl's bathroom. You're a Prefect. A BOY"— A few girls could be heard jumping up in the stalls in shock at the word—"Prefect which means you use the Prefect's bathroom, anyway." Frankie reasoned. He was out of arguments and could hear other girls whispering about coming out to check if Frankie was telling the truth. It was time to make a quick exit.

"If this is the girl's bathroom, I guess I had better be off now." Tom smiled, politely. He hastily ran for the exit before she could answer back. She had done the exact same thing to him earlier and, like he did earlier, she felt the need to run after him.

However, also like him, she was never quite able to catch up.


	36. Have You Seen Myrtle?

The fresh summer air moved in as it finally became early June. Although, no student at Hogwarts could properly enjoy this beautiful breeze, as everyone felt their lives were in mortal danger. Thanks to Tom the school year was an absolute, chaotic hell. No month went by quickly and without immense fear. People were being attacked inside the school and no one could explain who or what was responsible for it. Tom was not even being remotely suspected. After all, who would suspect the smart and charming Prefect? Since, he no longer had any research to fill his spare time and felt he no longer needed to study for the upcoming O.W.L.S, he spent most of his time trying to weed out all the muggle-borns for the Basilisk. Finally, being a Prefect, it was even easier to get the information he wanted and he was able to work around the new restrictions in a snap. It was almost all too easy. Tom had started write threatening messages on the corridor walls in red paint after an attack, just to have a little bit of thrill in all of this.

" _Mudbloods, you will all perish_."

Despite all the warnings and the signs, instead of closing down the school, the teachers had put the school on lockdown for the past few months. So, there were no more trips to Hogsmeade, no wandering the castle alone without a teacher or Prefect, confided to the dorms most hours and very strict after dark security. They were probably hoping to trap the culprit in the school, so they'd have nowhere to run, but little did they realize they were actually sealing the grim fate of every muggle-born student there. The castle was vast, but there was nowhere they could possibly hide from him and the Basilisk if they weren’t allowed to leave it.

However, if you were clever enough, you always found a way out. Especially, if you had somewhere you needed to be on Sundays.

"There was another attack yesterday."

She had said that and yet Frankie was blatantly disregarding the new restrictions that were supposed to keep her from being attacked right at that very moment. Of course, it's not like she was under any threat, even though she was currently shoulder-to shoulder with the culprit this very moment as well. The two were sunken down at the base of the tree on their normal Sunday walk. They had not yielded one, since the new rules had been invoked.

"Really? You don't say? How dreadful…" Tom remarked, trying too hard to sound rather clueless. He was trying to hold back a secret little smirk that was growing on his face. He knew very well that there was an attack yesterday. Not only was it in a buzz around the school, but he was the one who ordered it. He had just recently discovered that Nero Lawson, a Hufflepuff in their year, was a Mudblood and had made plans to eradicate him immediately. It just took one whisper to his precious pet and Nero was gone.

Well, that was how it was supposed to go, anyway. The truth was Tom had not actually killed any muggle-borns yet. The Basilisk eyes were supposed to kill anyone who ever met its yellow gaze and yet all these Mudbloods were just ending up petrified. Tom would have loved to investigate, but it was not like he could be at a crime scene as it was happening. He couldn't risk getting caught. It wouldn't just be a simple slap on the wrist, he'd be sent to the wizard jail, Azkaban.

"I'm just glad he wasn't killed." Frankie sighed. She didn't know it, buts she inadvertently had just said she was happy he was a failure. Tom grew a small scowl.

"Why?" Tom asked, trying his best not to sound affronted. He looked at her like she was crazy. How dare she be concerned about that Mudblood. "Were you actually friends with him?"

"Not really."

"So, why care about a stranger?"

"He wasn't a stranger! He's was our classmate. Even though I didn't really know him personally, it doesn't mean I shouldn't care," she argued. Tom saw her slight point, but all-in-all he still thought he was right. Nero was pretty much a stranger and she shouldn't be caring about his well-being. "It's been months now and there still aren't any leads on who or what is causing all of this."

"Stop worrying." he commanded. He didn't want her anywhere near this matter, nor for her to even think on it for more than a minute. Not only was it rather gross and ugly business, but if Frankie went sticking her nose into this, she'd be able to figure out who the culprit is in a heartbeat. She already had background knowledge of the Basilisk, which was sadly a lot more information than the teachers had so far. She'd need to be disposed of, if she found out the truth, which was the last thing Tom wanted to have to do.

"I can't. What if it—"

"I can guarantee you and I won't be attacked."

"How can you be so sure of that?" Well, having a strong relationship with the Heir of Slytherin sure helped. Tom couldn't say that, obviously. He didn't want to say it was because of her blood, which immediately was what came to mind. Her pure and beautiful blood. With those two combined, she was as safe as any Slytherin. Tom would probably attack some of his own "friends" if their blood wasn't more pure then his.

He needed a distraction from the question. It was too risky to answer it. His eyes had shifted to the black leather bound book, lying in the grass beside her. He was hoping to have it be a book he had read, so he could strike up conversation about it, but Tom had never seen that book before. It must have been one of the books she "found" somewhere. The title of the book was what made his eyes so drawn to it.

_Secrets of the Darkest Art_

Tom went from his strange silence and suddenly sprang into action, leaning over Frankie to grab the book. She immediately went into a state of confused embarrassment, until she realized what he had been after. Upon seeing the book in his hand she started frantically waving her arms to try and get it back from him.

"Don't read it, Tom! It's a terrible book." Frankie exclaimed, desperately. However, despite her book review, he opened the book to the first page.

"Terrible, indeed…" Tom remarked, shoving away her grabbing hands. His eyes were already fixed on the pages with much intrigue.

"Then, please stop. Please..."she begged, sounding even more desperate. Tom glanced up for a moment to meet her gaze. Frankie was staring at him with a very serious expression and for a split second he felt the need to return it back. It was certainly one of her mystery books, which meant whatever was in this book, must've been truly wicked.

"Stop worrying, Frankie, it's just a peek. For study…"he reasoned, flashing her a charming smile to get her to yield. A book like this was not meant to be in the goody witch's possession anyway. "I'm not mad enough to attempt anything. I just want a look."

The book was filled with many dark things, even darker than the others he had stolen glances of in the past. How to curse objects, techniques to perfecting the Three Unforgivable Curses, but the one that seem to catch his eye the most were _Horcruxes_. It was a brilliant little piece of magic. A Horcrux was an object that you put a fragment of your soul into in the case that your body was ever destroyed. All you needed to do was get an object, kill someone, and say the spell with the object in hand. Simple enough. With something like this, one could achieve immortality. He kept re-reading the spell and the instructions as fast as he could, until Frankie swiped it back, noticing his increased interest in the particular pages. She looked down at the pages he was reading and made a face of absolute disgust.

"Horcruxes are the worst thing in this book." she fumed, angrily.

"But, if you have one you cannot die—"

"That doesn't matter. You're taking someone else's life just to preserve your own. It's just wrong." Frankie argued, glaring at him with contempt. The good witch wouldn't take any reasons he could give her into consideration. Her mind was made up, so he wouldn't even bother to make the effort to try to change it.

"Of course, you're right." Tom answered, a maniacal smile twisting on his face.

Frankie ranted on and on how she planned to dispose of it and all the books, so that no one else should be exposed to their wickedness. There was something in there about the Room of Requirement, or something. He honestly wasn't really paying attention to her mad ramble on how the books were pure evil. Tom was busy burning the spell to make a Horcrux into his mind. It wouldn't matter that she wouldn't let him read it again or destroyed it. Now, he had the drive he needed to actually kill a muggle-born. It said the splitting of the soul would be painful, but he knew if he succeeded he would be a step closer to immortality. A bit of pain couldn't compare to not being able to truly die. Now, it was the question of what object to place the bit of his soul in and which muggle-born was going to die so he could do so.

Slightly knowing Tom wasn't paying attention to her, she suggested they returned to the castle early and he obliged. They walked up carefully, snuck their way through the greenhouses past Beery on patrol, and on to the main stairs. Suddenly, they hear a loudly unpleasant whistle and turn around to see Pringle behind them.

"What are you two doing out?" Pringle shouted, sending several globs of spit in their direction.

"I was on patrol and I found this girl sneaking around the greenhouses, claiming she left one of her textbooks. I'm escorting her back to her common room and will be alerting her head of house, shortly." Tom stated, calmly. He and Frankie had come up with excuses on the off chance they ever got caught. Unfortunately, Frankie was not given the special responsibilities and freedom that Tom got as Prefect, so they had to figure out a different angle. They even threw in a couple of glares at each other for the dramatic Gryffindor-Slytherin effect. Pringle examined the shiny Prefect badge pinned to Tom’s chest very closely, until he was satisfied.

"Alright, hurry it up then." They gave each other knowing looks of victory as they turned and ascended the staircases to the seventh floor. A few minutes and several moving staircases later, they arrived at portrait of the Fat Lady. She was looking extremely distressed and jittery, jumping up almost completely out of her frame upon Tom and Frankie’s arrival.

"Ms. Dickson, now more than ever, you can't bring him up here. They say the culprit could even be a student and for all we know it could be him," the Fat Lady exclaimed, glaring at Tom. The Fat Lady always suspected Tom was the culprit when something dastardly was going on. One year, she blamed him for a mysterious disappearance of shrubs on a painting on the fourth floor. She thought he was a deviant and saw through his charming façade, most days. Then, there were other days she was giving him love advice he didn't want and treating him far too kindly. "All it takes is one good slash to my canvas and I'm history. Then, who would protect the common room? Everyone in Gryffindor would be in danger. Please, won't you be more careful."

"I'm really sorry. However, the term is almost over, so you won't have to worry about many more Sunday sneak outs, I promise. _Lilacspiritous_!" Frankie remarked. She waved goodbye to Tom and climbed into the portrait hole. The Fat Lady started muttering about how she needed to change the password, when Tom decided he might as well award her for being the only one right about him.

"Is that all it takes to get rid of you? I'll keep that in mind…"

"MS. DICKSON, COME BACK! HE JUST THREATENED ME."

Tom gave a satisfied smirk at the paranoia he gave the annoying painting and walked back down the staircases to his own common room. He tried to sooth is head in the silence as he walked through the student-less corridors to the Slytherin common room. The Fat Lady had given him yet another headache and, if his roommates were acting in their usual manor, they'd only make it worst. Tom took the secret shortcut leading from Hieroglyphic Hall to get past Dumbledore on watch. For some reason he always was patrolling the dungeons. He quickly gave his common room's password, " _Sanguis vita est_." and slipped in. Unlike with the Gryffindors random jumbles of nonsense words, their passwords were always intelligent and relevant. This one meant "Blood is life".

"Where were you, mister Dark Lord? Off attacking more Mudbloods." Lestrange asked, nonchalantly, as Tom entered their room.

"Bite your tongue, Lestrange. Don't speak of the matter with such casualty." Tom scolded, sounding like a strict parent rather than their ruthless leader. Yes, he had told them of his heritage and his quest. They were his "friends" after all. Being the Heir of Slytherin, naturally made him have even more power over them all. He was practically their king now.

"So, who're you attacking next, Tom?" Avery inquired. All of them turned to Tom for the answer. No doubt they were all generally interested in his work, they were all eager for the knowledge. However, were not willing to work for it. He didn't know what he was thinking by telling them, honestly. They were pretty much useless.

"Yes, won't you tell us, Tom?" Peter asked, probably just to seem like one of the crowd. Tom had suspicions about Peter’s actual thoughts on the terrorizing of Mudbloods. However, unless he wanted a fifty-foot snake after him, he’d keep his own ideas to himself.

"I'm sure he wrote it in his journal. Vogel, grab it." Lestrange ordered, pointing in the direction of Tom's bedside table.

"Touch it and you lose a hand." Tom hissed, grabbing the journal from the table with slight haste. Yes, it did have all his secret notes and doodles. But it was more of the fact he didn't want those people touching the only Christmas gift Frankie could ever afford to get him. It was somewhat of value to him. He took one last glare at them all, before getting under his covers to block them out. He didn't care that he was still fully dressed and obsessively clutching a journal in one hand, curling up under the plush emerald covers was the only thing he could do to get away from them in here. He’d skip supper and take a nap before Prefect night patrol, praying he felt better later when he awoke. “Nobody speak to me for the rest of the night. You idiots are giving me a headache."

While Tom was curled up in bed, Frankie had decided to go to the library with a group of Gryffindors going on a study expedition, approved by Dumbledore. She had a Charms essay and a study guide for Potions that were due soon, might as well get them done now. Quickly, she stuffed a bunch of books and rolls of parchment in her bag and joined the departing group to the library. When she got there she grabbed an empty table near the back and spread out all her books across the surface to prevent anyone from sitting with her. She didn't want any distractions. After Frankie had finished setting them all out, she suddenly noticed she had accidently placed _Secrets of the Darkest Art_ had amongst the selections. It was the only one of her wicked books that had the title on the cover and certainly someone was bound to recognize the selection. She let out a small audible gasp and quickly rushed to remove it before anybody else noticed. Unfortunately, the librarian, Madam Domitille Myriadd, had noticed Frankie suspiciously stuffing a book into her bag and came over immediately to grab it without question. Madam Myriadd opened it and, naturally, gasped as well.

"Did you steal this?" she asked, giving Frankie a rather frightening stern look.

"No. I—"

"Don't lie to me." Madam Myriadd demanded. She reminded Frankie in that moment heavily of Mrs. Cole. Cold gaze, arms crossed, blaming her for something she didn't do. "This book is supposed to be chained up in the restricted section!"

"I didn't take—" Frankie tried arguing, but Madam Myriadd merely put up a finger to silence her. She didn't want to hear any of her excuses.

" _What's going on here?_ "

Dumbledore had appeared behind them and was looking at the scene with curiosity behind his half-moon spectacles. He had probably just entered the library, to govern and watch over the Gryffindors while they studied, when he heard the commotion happening over at the table. The whole library could probably hear Madam Myriadd's deranged shouting.

"Ah, Professor Dumbledore. You have such excellent timing. One of the students from your house has stolen a book from the restricted section." Madam Myriadd answered, handing him the book. Dumbledore merely looked at the book with a blank and vacant expression. He apparently didn't even need to look inside

"Come with me."

Every muscle felt like it was petrified and she wished in this moment just to drop down and be in a comatose state for the rest of the year like all the others in the hospital wing right now. Thieving was not tolerated at Hogwarts and that's what Dumbledore thought she'd done. She could get kicked out of school, or worse. He might take the contents of the book and think she is the one attacking all the students. Frankie reluctantly scooped up the rest of her books into her bag and Dumbledore led her out of the library. They walked along the crowded corridors in silence, until they arrived at his office.

"Professor, please believe me! I didn't take it. I found it in the Room of Requirement last year." Frankie blurted out, the second she shut the door behind them. Actually hearing it said out loud, it sounded ridiculous. She sunk down into the student chair and readied herself for a fitting punishment.

"Did you take any others from the room?" Dumbledore asked, calmly taking up the seat at his own desk and setting the book down upon it.

"Um, yes. There are six more, sir." Frankie replied, sounding rather confused. Did he actually believe her?

"Did you read this one?" he inquired, picking up the book again.

"Yes."

"And what did you think about it?"

"I think it's the vilest piece of literature ever written. Whoever hid it in that room was right to do so," she snapped, angrily. She had to hold herself back from going on a rant like she had out on her walk with Tom. "Of course, I would have destroyed it, if I were them."

"Wonderful!" he exclaimed, as if she just hadn't said something horrible about it. "I'll let you go now, but I just have one more question."

"Okay."

"Have you let anyone else read this book?" Dumbledore asked. Frankie paused. She had let one other person read it, but it was no big deal. It was only Tom and he would never actually attempt anything in that book. If she told this to Dumbledore, though, Tom would get in a lot more trouble considering he was a Prefect.

"No one, sir."

Frankie was simply dismissed for supper after that with no further line of questioning. She left Dumbledore's office and started to head towards the Great Hall, nervously shaking a bit. The thing was you couldn't really lie to Dumbledore. He always knew when someone was lying and usually just went along with the lie knowing the truth would come out eventually. It usually always did.

Supper wasn't very pleasant for her. She got so jumpy and could barely hold a spoon to eat her soup. It was like she was afraid of Dumbledore coming up behind her at any moment to call her bluff. Frankie was walking with a rather large crowd that had decided to be finished, still in a kind of worried daze, when she bumped into someone's back. It hadn't been her fault. The individual had decided to stop in the middle of the corridor. Frankie looked up and saw Hagrid, holding a napkin filled with food bits and muttering something to himself.

"Hello, Hagrid." Frankie remarked, trying to smile and appear normal. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing. I haven't seen you around lately."

"That's because you still have detention for raising those werewolf cubs under your bed."

"Ah, I don't see what the big fuss was about. Sweet creatures, they were." he argued. Frankie let out a small chuckle. She fondly remembered the frosty morning she and Hagrid found the cubs at the edge of Forbidden Forest. They took to Hagrid right away and ended following him up to the castle. Everyone in the house loved them and they really were sweet, but being cooped under Hagrid's bed did have some negative side effects to them.

"I know, but I don't think that'll change the fact that they destroyed Merrythought's office," Frankie reasoned. "So, what's with the scraps?"

"I suppose I could show ya. It would be nice for _him_ to get some socializing done, don't want him growing up being anti-social," he muttered, to himself more than her. "Promise me ya won't go telling anyone about this, got it?"

"I got it." she answered back. Slowly, they made their way downstairs to the dungeons, keeping eye for anyone that could be on patrol. Thankfully, everyone seemed to still be at supper. They soon arrived at a small dungeon door and went inside to a dimly lit stone room. It seemed pretty normal and empty, except for a large wooden crate centered in the room. Slowly, Hagrid opened the crate and peered inside.

"Aragog, I brought some company today!" Hagrid reported, cheerfully, down to whatever was inside. Frankie heard no answer, just a series of rapid clicking. Curiously, she walked over beside Hagrid and looked down to see into the box. A spider a bit bigger than a small dog stared back at her with it's eight beady black eyes. "Isn't he just beautiful?"

"Hagrid is that a—"

"Yep, an Acromantula. Got him off a traveler I met in Hogsmeade during one of the trips, before they got canceled."

Most people would have screamed "Monster!" and ran to go find the nearest teacher. However, Frankie thankfully wasn't like most people…

"Wow a real Acromantula! I've never seen one before."

"You can pet him if ya like," Hagrid added, sensing she was a bit hesitant despite her love of magical creatures. You could love a creature and find them fascinating. It doesn't necessarily mean you want to get that close with them, especially if they were a class XXXXX monster. "Don't worry his chelicerae aren't too strong, yet. He's only a few months old."

She gently lowered her hand into the crate and Aragog quickly backed away from the hand, as if she was the one that was venomous.

"Come on, Aragog. It's alright." Frankie smiled, calmly. He stared at her with his eight black eyes, with what was probably suspicion. Carefully, he approached her hand and let her pet his back.

"Aw, I think he likes ya," Hagrid beamed, as Aragog clicked at her. "All right then, time for food Aragog! Would you like to help?"

"Yes!" She pulled down her skirt a little and Hagrid placed him on her lap. The two sat talking for some time, while Aragog nibbled little bits of chicken out of their hands. Suddenly, after a while, they heard footsteps and someone came bursting through the door.

"Excuse me, students shouldn't be—Oh."

Tom was about to give one of his usual uptight Prefect speeches, but stopped immediately when he saw Frankie sitting there staring at him in confusion with her large hazel eyes. Not only was he shocked by her sudden appearance, but she had a giant spider occupied on her lap and was sitting next to that half-breed, oaf, Rubeus Hagrid, from two years below.

"Good evening, Tom." Frankie smiled, as if she didn't have a giant spider sitting on her lap. "Hagrid, this is my friend, Tom Riddle."

"I'm Rubeus Hagrid." Hagrid greeted, holding out his free, foodless hand for Tom to shake.

"I know. I was one of the Prefects that had to clean up your little werewolf cub situation." Tom replied, coldly neglecting to shake his hand.

"Sorry bout' that. They were usually so well behaved." Hagrid laughed.

"I'm sure they were," Tom added, with high amounts of sarcasm in his voice. He scoffed at the new creature before him. "I see you've found something else to replace them..."

"Please don't tell the teachers, Tom!" Frankie exclaimed, seeming to know what he was thinking. She, Hagrid and the spider all gave him pleading puppy dog eyes, begging him not to. If only she hadn't been there, he would have just turned Hagrid in. It would've saved everyone from yet another situation and give his reputation a boost. With every good deed he did, suspicion grew farther away that he was really behind the true evil. It didn't matter, though. Hagrid was a fool; he'd be caught soon enough.

"Fine, I won't tell. Just don't let it go loose around the castle," Tom responded, turning away from the begging eyes. "Now, you two should be going back to your common room."

"Of course." Frankie answered, handing the spider back to Hagrid.

"Why don't you go on ahead? I'm going to stay just a bit longer." Hagrid replied, despite what Tom said being a command not a suggestion. Tom wasn't about to force him to come along when he realized that this meant he once again had an excuse to walk with Frankie back to Gryffindor common room.

"Come on along then, Frankie." Tom added, gesturing her to follow him out the door. He and Frankie walked through the dark torch lit corridor in silence for a while.

"Aragog is a real Acromantula, Tom!" Frankie reported, suddenly, clearly still amazed about the monster that had been sitting on her lap. Knowing her, if he introduced her to the Basilisk, she'd try and snuggle up with it.

"That _thing_ has a name."

"Of course, he has a name." After some skillful teacher dodging and several sets of stairs, they arrived at the portrait of the Fat Lady a few minutes later. Since it was the second time Tom had visited today and it was after hours this time, naturally, she was in one of her moods again.

"What are you doing out so late? You were supposed to be in the common room five minutes ago!" the Fat Lady yelled at Frankie. Tom plugged his ears in preparation for the oncoming rant. "And you! I told you not to come here anymore. Go away! Shoo!"

"Lilacspiritous!" Frankie shouted. The Fat Lady was forced to swing open and let her inside. She said goodbye to Tom and hastily walked through the ranting portrait. She could vaguely hear her shouting at Tom, as she was closing the door.

"Oh, look what you did. Now, I have to change the password," the Fat Lady shouted at Tom, even though Frankie was the one who had said it. If she was going to yell about it, she could’ve actually changed it from the last time he came around.

"Don't think that Prefect badge changes a thing. I know you're still full of trouble!"

The next day was the last day of lessons before the exams and O.W.L.S started. Everyone was waking up with even more stress and complaining than usual. All except for Tom. He woke up with a fantastic idea of what object to make into a Horcrux. How’d he come up with it? Well, waking with the object in clutched in hand sure helped. He had fallen asleep protecting his journal from prying eyes again. It obviously meant something to him if he found the need to protect it to such an extent. Now, it was just the task of finding the next foolish muggle-born to sacrifice.

First period, Tom was off to Defense Against the Dark Arts with the Ravenclaws, while Frankie was off taking Care of Magical Creatures with anyone crazy enough to still be continuing with that elective. The teacher, to Tom's knowledge, was about as mediocre as the subject. Frankie said he sometimes started class ten minutes early, throwed books randomly at students, even if they were paying attention, and would suddenly jump up on student's desks in the middle of lecturing. Since he was so unpredictable, Tom couldn't even casually walk with Frankie up the stairs to her classroom on the second floor, on his way to the third floor.

What normally would've been a slight inconvenience to him worked in his favor today.

Seeing that dopy, warm smile would make him lose his nerve to do what he needed to do. Tom sat in his seat in Defense Against the Dark Arts, looking up at the dragon skeleton in intentional distraction. He was asking himself stupid questions like "Could the Basilisk's skeleton fit on the ceiling?", counting every single bone, anything that could take his mind away. Then, Professor Merrythought started to call roll and the distraction became easier.

"Ms. Warren? Where's Myrtle?" Merrythought asked, looking in the direction of the Ravenclaws for answers. Tom suddenly flinched up and looked towards the empty seat with the rest of the class. Myrtle's signature pigtails were not sitting beside a sneering Leri. Tom knew he hadn't put her in the hospital, which meant that wherever she was, that goody-goody loser was breaking the rules.

"I heard that sixth year, Olive Hornby, was teasing her that she was going to get attacked next because she's muggle-born,” Phoebe Diamas answered, above the hushed whispers. “She's crying her eyes out in the bathroom downstairs. I heard her on my way to class."

"Quickly! Someone needs to go get her," Merrythought demanded. Tom smiled and made eye contact, silently indicating he would gladly be a volunteer to go get her. "Would you mind going, Tom? Prue is out sick and Robert is still petrified."

"But of course…"

A vulnerable, miserable muggle-born already sitting in his bathroom just one floor down. It was just too easy…

At that moment, Frankie was unexpectedly wandering the second floor, alone, curiously looking around in search for something. Professor Kettleburn had asked her to get an octopus beak from the Potions storeroom, so he could compare it to a Hippogriff's. She didn't even know where the storeroom was and yet he trusted her to go alone. Unlike the other teachers, Kettleburn thought the new restrictions were just simply ridiculous and had absolutely no problem sending his students into possible danger. Frankie had no problem with it either, except she would've liked a better note that actually exempted her from getting into trouble. The one she had just said, _"1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Let's do the octopus. What's that you say?"_ and had a very crudely drawn map on the back. She was walking by the bathroom, trying to figure out the map, when she heard loud sobs coming from inside. Curious as to the cause, she cautiously entered to find a girl with a mess of thick dark brown hair, curled up into a tight ball on the bathroom floor.

"Are you alright?" Frankie asked, walking over to her. Getting closer she recognized the agonized shrieks as Myrtle Warren, a Ravenclaw girl from her year. She often could be heard crying in various places around the castle because people were constantly teasing her about her pimply face and not so thin stomach.

"Go away!" Myrtle shouted, still curled up in a ball. She lifted her hands from her eyes for a moment, to see who she was actually yelling at, and glared. "Oh, it's _you_."

"Myrtle, are you—"

"Don't start with that again. I know you really don't care about people like me. Your one of those girls always surrounded by boys even though you're not very pretty," Myrtle snapped, angrily. "You're just here to tease me, till Olive arrives."

"Actually, I'm just here to use the toilet," Frankie lied, pushing passed her towards the nearest stall. She was a slightly mad about the comment Myrtle had made about her. That wasn’t her at all. She might’ve only said that because of her major crush on Quin and the fact that he was actually friends with Frankie. For someone who got teased a lot, she was pretty good at judging others. "I don't know what Professor Merrythought's take on the rules are but, if you're not using the restroom, I'd suggest you go back to class."

Myrtle made an affronted face at her and then locked herself into one of the stalls. Frankie walked into the stall next to her, unfazed and cold. She had just closed the door when she heard something that was not Myrtle's muffled sobs into her robe from the next stall over. At first it was just footsteps stepping on the slightly damp stone floor, but then there was a singular hiss and the sounds of pipes. Then, after the pipes seemed to be done, it sounded like there were two men having a conversation. Only, instead of words, they were bizarrely hissing at one another.

It was strange, and probably not what she should have been worrying about at the moment, but one of the voices sounded oddly familiar to her…

Then, she saw something enormous, toxic green, slithering across the floor. Frankie jumped up onto the toilet seat and held up her robes, so whatever it was could not see her. She dug into her pockets and pulled out a bunch of small notes she had made from _Most Macabre Monstrosities_. Since, Dumbledore had ordered Frankie return all of the books that she had taken from the Room of Requirement, she had started taking down bits of information from the books. It was only for future reference. Thankfully, she had taken down the excerpt of what she thought it was. With something that large and with that coloring it had to be…

 _The_ _Basilisk_

A fifty-foot, class XXXXX monster in the girl's bathroom at Hogwarts. That sounded insane. But if it wasn't a Basilisk, what was it? Whatever it was, she was surely going to be dead in a few minutes, if she didn't figure out a way to make it out of her stall alive. Frankie took a deep breath and thrust her door open, with the only plan she could think of in the moment.

Run.

Luckily, she was staring at the scaly upper-middle rather than the head. Frankie ran for the sinks, climbed up and jumped atop of the Basilisk. It was a mad idea, but it was the only way to get out of there. Frankie quickly shut her eyes, leaped off the other side of the Basilisk and made a mad dash for the exit. Only when she had made into the hallway did she reopen her eyes. The Basilisk was desperately trying to turn around and get whatever had gotten away, but could not due to the tight space it was in.

Tom was too busy focusing on the crying stall to notice she had been there at all. He hissed for the Basilisk to focus and he knocked politely on the stall door…

For the moment, she was safe. Frankie down the hall to get back to class, get Professor Kettleburn. Surely, mad as he was, he could handle something this serious. Then once he had been deployed, go up a floor and get Professor Merrythought, as well. Suddenly, though she stopped dead in her tracks and audibly gasped. In her mental analysis of the situation, she had forgotten a minor detail.

She had left Myrtle alone in the bathroom with the Basilisk.

Frankie made a U-turn back towards the bathroom, praying she wasn't too late. Any minute classes would get out and flood the bathroom with girls trying to fix their makeup and use the toilet before their next lesson. If she didn't do something fast, everyone else would be in danger as well. Frankie was almost there again, when she saw Tom slowly walking towards her. He was clutching the diary she had gotten him for Christmas years ago with a creepily satisfied smile on his face and looking totally zoned out.

"Tom! You have to come with me immediately." Frankie insisted, seeming to be ignoring the fact that he didn't look well.

"What's wrong?"

"No time to explain. Just come on, before it's too late!"

She dragged him along through the hall, continuing on running toward the bathroom. They arrived to a strangely empty and silent bathroom. A fifty-foot snake couldn't hide. Where was it?

"Myrtle?" Frankie exclaimed, but there was no answer. She looked in the direction of her stall and screamed. The door of the stall open and limp body of Myrtle Warren lay strewn across the floor. Frankie let go of her grip on Tom and ran over to check on Myrtle, in the slight chance she was just barely alive. Tom staggered for a moment, tried to brace himself on the sinks, but then fell to the ground seconds later. Frankie just sat there, very unsure about what she was supposed to do. She had been too late and the Basilisk was gone. She was sitting between a girl she had left for dead and, unknown to her, her best friend who had just made a Horcrux because of a book she let him read.

This mess was all her fault.


	37. Let's Play the Blame Game

The death of Myrtle Warren had made the pandemonium and chaos of the entire year finally reached it's dramatic climax. Gossip buzzed more than ever as the teachers found the three fifth years in the second floor girl's bathroom minutes later. One dead, one unconscious, and one absolutely horrified. Myrtle, the girl dead, was given a school funeral and all testing had been postponed for a few days to let the dust of the "tragedy" settle. Only a few people were really mourning the death of a girl ugly and unloved. Meanwhile, the hero too late to save her was spending time in the crowded hospital wing. Tom sat in his bed surrounded by a sea of colorful flowers, meaning to wish him well. Even though there was a girl now dead, he was the beloved hero that needed to be honored. The teachers and fellow Prefects felt like they were coming in every minute to visit him. It was all very exhausting, but he had no choice but to play the part he had been assigned.

And the girl found in the middle of it all…

"Get out me out of here."

Tom was once again demanding to be released. It was only Wednesday and he had already had enough. As you can imagine, he found it rather boring lying in the hospital bed all day. He desperately had wanted to be out by now, but Nurse Glinda insisted he wasn't well enough to leave yet. It was only a fever and the occasional vomiting. At least for the moment, he was finally with the only person he could be his true self around. Frankie sat in the visitor's seat, soothing his anguish and acting like a vacuum for his many complaints. It was nice to drop the charming act and say how he truly felt about being in stuck there.

"You shouldn't push yourself, Tom." Frankie replied, simply.

"I'm going to miss the O.W.L.S. If I don't get out and take them I won't make it to N.E.W.T level classes." he reasoned, hoping academics would sway her to try and convince the nurse to let him out.

"It's alright, Tom. You're going to be able to take them later with the fifth years that got petrified." she replied, calmly.

"How are they going to take the exams when their frozen solid?" Tom sneered, letting his true nature shine through a little too much.

"Professor Beery just finished brewing the Mandrake Draught and all the people who were petrified are back to normal now," Frankie explained, ignoring the slight cruelness in his voice. Tom pulled back the curtains around the other side of his bed, meant to conceal all the Mudbloods he had attempted to murder from his view, to find an empty hospital wing. Everyone who he had attacked was gone. "Didn't you notice all the empty hospital beds?"

"They're all okay? What happened? Were they able to find out who attacked them?"

"Calm down, Tom. Everyone's fine. They're going through questioning right now, so there's no culprit yet." Tom pretended to calm down, but his mind still remained high on red alert. If those filthy Mudbloods all said they saw a Basilisk, as seemingly ridiculous as it sounded, the teachers would have to start investigating. They'd link it to Slytherin and the Heir of Slytherin, question all the Slytherin and one of Tom's ‘friends’ would surely break. Then instead of a bright illustrious future, he'd become some low life convict making sleazy deals for Happy Enhancing Chocolate Bars to ease the pain of the Dementors in Azkaban. "So, you still haven't told me. What made you pass out like that anyway?"

Tom turned a bit red and it wasn't from his high fever. He was usually a vision of perfect health. After sixteen years in the orphanage, he had never ever been sick, not even once. It was embarrassing that he had fainted in front of her from making the Horcrux. He didn't realize how much it would actually take out of him and he'd admit, to himself, that he still had not yet fully recovered. However, recovering quickly didn't matter at all. Now, sitting beside him on his bedside table, was his very own Horcrux.

Suddenly, amidst Tom's reddening silence and refusal to answer the question, a silvery-white mist seemed to come from the wall. It was oozing at first before it surrounded them both in its icy chill. The mist selected a single target and Frankie shivered as the mist began to just swirl around her, moving so fast you could not see it. Until, finally, the silvery mist shot up and formed the shape of a girl with pigtails and thick rimmed glasses. There was another reason people were not mourning the girl gone.

"Hello, Frankie. Are you having fun being _alive_ today?"

Myrtle had come back. She had even been at her own funeral. It was clear why she had become a ghost and, when she wasn't haunting Olive Hornby, she enjoyed making Frankie feel guilty about what she had done. Tom didn't know if it was getting to her yet, she didn't like to talk about it. Myrtle looked down at Tom sitting in the hospital bed. It was the first time she'd sought Frankie out during one of her visits with Tom. "What’s the matter, wench? Did you try to kill Tom to?"

"I'm here because of my own actions. She had nothing to do with this." Tom answered, looking up at the girl.

"Oh, is that so?" Myrtle added, in disbelief. She gazed at Tom through her thick spectacles and drifted down next to him. She had a strangely confident air to her now, not about to take crap from anyone.

"Yes. Frankie would never do anything to hurt me or anyone," Tom stated, gazing right past her over at Frankie. While she gave him a warm smile, appreciating his kind words, Myrtle made a face of slight disappointment that quickly turned into a hateful glare. "Stop being so bitter, Myrtle. If it sets your mind at ease, you could always just blame it on me."

"She hurt me. The reason I'm dead is because of her!" Myrtle screamed. Her face was mere inches from Tom's, yet his remained emotionless.

"Regardless of her actions, you would have been killed either way." Tom added, coldly. Myrtle gasped and quickly glided back through the wall, sobbing madly. They let out sighs of relief that the sobbing had subsided and the two were once again sitting alone in the hospital wing.

"Thanks, I don't think I could have handled her on my own," Frankie stated, when she was sure Myrtle was completely gone and was going to stay away. Tom found this an odd statement, considered she had been through far worst abuse from Leri on a daily basis. "She is right, though."

"It wasn't your fault." Tom protested, immediately he was not about to have Frankie blaming herself for his evil.

"If I didn't leave her in there, she would still be alive." she reasoned.

"If you stayed you could've been killed, as well." he retorted back, quickly. If Tom hadn't killed her in the first place, she'd still be alive. Probably not for much longer, considering her looks and status, but still. "There was no way you could have stopped the—"

He stopped himself from completing the sentence. Tom had almost mentioned the name of the creature that had killed Myrtle, which he wasn't supposed to know. Besides, Frankie would have thought him completely mad if he had said that there was a Basilisk hiding in a secret chamber in the school.

"Everyone thinks it was me who killed Myrtle."

"To hell with what they think. You are not the culprit."

"Well, the teachers found me between not only Myrtle, but you as well. It didn't look so good," Frankie explained, as if he were a child that didn't understand the situation. "I know that I didn't do anything, but—"

"So, you're saying if the culprit isn't caught they're just going to blame you." Tom snapped, angrily. "That's not right."

"It would seem that is the only option." She sounded like an adult taking all the responsibility upon herself, when she didn't have to. She _shouldn't_ have to.

"This is insane. You're just as much as a victim then anyone. They can't do that." he yelled, trying to call her back to reason and logic.

"If I don't take the blame, the real killer is still at large, and Professor Dippet is going to have no choice but to close down the school!" she snapped back.

"What? That can't be…"

"It's true."

"What about us?"

"We will have to return to the orphanage, until were at least eighteen." she answered, looking down at the floor. Clearly, she had been dreading telling him this.

"No! I'm not going to go back there for three more years." he spat, angrily.

"It doesn't look like we have a choice," Frankie answered. "It's either close down the school or send me away!"

"I'm going to talk Professor Dippet. He can't close down the school or blame you for all this." Tom shouted, starting to get up from his bed. He immediately sunk back down, being dizzy, feverish, and angry were not good combinations for walking. However, he kept trying, which naturally signaled Nurse Glinda run over.

"You're not going anywhere, Tom. You are not yet healed!"

Tom sighed and laid back in his bed. He gave up for the moment, but not completely. Since Tom was imprisoned in the hospital wing, he wrote a letter to Professor Dippet. The letter was a simple request to stay at school over the summer holiday. He didn't add anything Frankie had told him, so he wouldn't get her in further trouble. He needed to play all of this really carefully if he wanted to solve this mess and get away scot-free.

Finally, when Tom was allowed to leave the hospital wing, Professor Dippet requested to see him in his office after supper. He slowly walked through Gargoyle Corridor and up the stairs to Dippet's office. How could he convince him to keep the school open without revealing that he was the culprit? Could it be possible that he already knew? Tom knocked on the door of the office.

"Enter." Dippet answered, through the door.

"You wanted to see me, Professor Dippet?" Tom stated, sounding a little nervous. Tom wasn't usually the nervous sort, and when he was he never let it show, but if Dippet did know what he had been up to Tom would be on his way to Azkaban before you could say guilty.

"Sit down," Dippet stated, his eyes fixed onto a piece of paper in his hand. "I've just been reading the letter you sent me."

"Oh…" Tom remarked, sitting down into the empty student's chair.

"My dear boy," Dippet started, and Tom could already tell this wasn't going in a good direction. "I cannot possibly let you stay at school over the summer. Surely you want to go home for the holidays?"

"No," Tom answered, flatly. He would definitely not want to go back to the orphanage, especially if Frankie wasn't there with him. "I'd much rather stay at Hogwarts than go back to that—to that—"

"You and Ms. Dickson live in a Muggle orphanage during the summer holidays, I believe?" Dippet inquired, curiously.

"Yes, sir." Tom replied, slightly reddening.

"You are a muggle-born?" Dippet asked.

"Half-blood, sir," Tom corrected, trying to hold his anger back at the very question. He hated that misconception that came with growing up in the muggle world, but not being muggle-born. People far too often mistook him and Frankie for Mudbloods. "Muggle father, witch mother."

"And are both of you parents—?"

"My mother died just after I was born. I was told at the orphanage she lived just long enough to name me— Tom after my father, Marvolo after my grandfather," Tom explained. Long before Frankie had arrived at the orphanage, at a certain age, Tom started to question where his mother had gone. After a small dose of little kid cuteness, that Mrs. Cole actually used to fall for back then, she told him the story.

"The thing is, Tom," he sighed, "special arrangements might have been made for you, but in the current circumstances…"

"You mean all these attacks?" Tom added, quietly.

"Precisely," Dippet sighed. "My dear boy, you must see how foolish it would be of me to allow you to remain at the castle when the term ends. Particularly in the light of the recent tragedy…the death of that poor girl… You will be safer by far at your orphanage. As a matter a fact, The Ministry of Magic is even now talking about closing the school. We are no nearer locating the—er—source of all this unpleasantness…"

Tom's eyes widened. What Frankie had told him really had been true. They weren't anywhere near to finding the real culprit, so they were going to close school. They didn't have any proof for all those incidents being her doing, other than the fact she was found in the middle of the last scene of the crime. Of course, her kind demeanor didn't scream "Mudblood Killer". She would've had to be one hell of an actor to have been putting up that front for five years.

It didn't matter how little or how much proof there was one her, they'd still blame her just to be through with the hell Tom had created. Frankie would accept it to save the school and, unknowingly, Tom. He needed to save her. For a desperate second, he considered telling Professor Dippet everything. It was at least a solution that meant that she would not be blamed and the school would be able to remain open.

"Sir—if the person was caught—if it all stopped—"

"What do you mean?" Dippet asked, sitting up from his chair. "Riddle, do you mean you know something about these attacks?"

"No, sir." Tom mumbled, quickly realizing it'd be foolish to turn himself in. It would burn his future and all his hard work. He would become worthless scum; surely Frankie would no longer wish to remain beside him. He could imagine her face contorted with shame and disappointment at him, it wasn't a pleasant sight to bear from the girl who should always be smiling at him. Dippet sank back into his chair, looking faintly disappointed. He most likely thought Tom was about to rat out Frankie for all of the attacks.

"You may go, Tom…."

Tom ran down the spiraling stairs into the dimly lit corridor, suddenly stopped once he had reached the bottom. He had to do something that would save himself, Frankie, and the school. His eyes moved onto a small spider crawling on a nearby window. _That's it_ _!_ He released his lip from being bitten. Wait, how long had he been biting his lip? Was it something he usually did? Meaningless questions that would have to be answered another time. He had come up with a plan. It was a pretty loose plan, but sure to work if he timed it just right. Tom hurried down the empty corridors, until he was stopped by a voice in the entrance hall.

"What are you doing, wandering out this late, Tom?"

He turned to face the person that had just caught him being out late. Dumbledore stood on the staircase, poised as if just waiting to catch Tom out of bed after hours.

"I had to see the headmaster, sir." Tom answered.

"Well, hurry off to bed," Dumbledore added, staring sternly at him. "Best not to roam the corridors these days. Not since…"

While, Dumbledore let out a huge, stressed sigh, Tom was anxiously waiting to escape his clutches. He had to get away from Dumbledore if he wanted to execute his plan. Luckily, Dumbledore simply said goodbye, returned up the marble staircase and out of sight. Meanwhile, Tom continued to head down the stone step towards the dungeons. He entered one of the empty dungeons, slit the door open just a crack, and began to wait. It seemed like Tom was waiting there for hours. Perhaps _he_ wouldn't be coming tonight. Then, suddenly there were footsteps in the corridor. Someone was coming and by looking at the huge shadow it was exactly who Tom was expecting. Tom edged through the door to follow the figure, until it opened the door of a dungeon. He hid himself behind the corner and watched as the figure crouched down.

"C'mon…gotta get yeh outta here…C'mon now…in the box…"

Tom jumped out from behind the corner. The large figure, as Tom suspected, was Rubeus Hagrid. He was crouched down in front of an open door with a very large box next to him.

"Evening, Rubeus." Tom remarked, sharply.

Hagrid jumped up from the floor.

"What yer doin' down here, Tom?" Hagrid asked. The two were not really friends with each other and yet he was using Tom's name with such a familiarity, while Tom had used his name with formality. Clearly, the one meeting in this dungeon behind them made them friends in that half-breed oaf's mind.

"It's all over," Tom stated. "I'm going to have to turn you in, Rubeus. They're talking about closing Hogwarts if the attacks don't stop."

"What d'yeh—"

"I don't think you meant it to kill anyone. But monsters don't make good pets. I suppose you just let it out for exercise and—"

"Aragog never killed no one!" Hagrid claimed, backing up against the door.

"Come on, Rubeus," Tom remarked, moving closer to him. "The dead girl's parents will be here tomorrow. The least Hogwarts can do is make sure the thing that killed their daughter is slaughtered…"

He did not care really about the murdering of Myrtle, just about the girl about to be blamed for it. He would do what he needed to save her.

"It wasn't him!" Hagrid roared, his voice filling the dark passage. "He wouldn't. He never!"

The vision of the girl with the giant spider on her lap seeped into Tom's mind.

" _Please don't tell, Tom!"_

 _Shut up! I'm doing this for your sake..._ He shook the memory from his head and drew out his wand.

"Stand aside." Tom sneered, angrily. The corridor was suddenly lit with a bright light, as Tom's spell hit. The door flew open. The two lie on the ground from the impact of the spell and finally out the monster came. Aragog had emerged from the box and was crawling towards Tom at high speed. By the time Tom was able to raise his wand again, he was too late. Aragog had run right over him and went running down corridor. Tom scrambled to his feet to pursue Aragog, but Hagrid had tackled him to the ground and seized his wand.

"NOOOOOOO!"

Meanwhile, Frankie had just come down into the Gryffindor common room to do some pre-bed socializing with Hagrid. They didn't really see each other often, being in different years, and she had basically nothing to do in the evenings since O.W.L.S were nearly over. Lately they had been meeting just before bed to chat about things. However, there was strangely no sign of Hagrid in the empty common room. There was only one person who was occupying the couch. Frankie leaned over to find Quin lying across the couch, reading. It looked like he had been there a while; perhaps he would know what happened to Hagrid.

"Do you know where Hagrid has gone? He said he wanted to borrow _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_ , before summer holiday starts and I finally found it." Frankie asked, holding up the book for him to see.

"He went out a little while ago." Quin answered, finally looking up from yet another Quidditch book to address her presence.

"It's after hours now, though. He'll get in trouble." she reported, looking towards the portrait hole.

"Hagrids already in trouble," he laughed, in attempt to wave away her worried notion. "How much more trouble can he get into?"

"I'm going to go look for him." Frankie added, making a break for the exit. Quin quickly shut his book and went to stop her. He rushed in front of her and held Frankie back by her shoulders.

"Whoa there, girl. You might get attacked. Besides, the after-hour security has really gotten good." Quin stated, to the struggling Frankie.

"I'll be fine! You and Aidan do it all the time and you guys never get caught." Frankie reasoned.

"Well that's because we—have—a—" he stuttered, unable to know how to say what he wanted to say to her. "Hold on a second."

He suddenly ran up the boy's stairs. Frankie could have just left while he was gone, but she stood waiting out of curiosity. Quin returned a few minutes later with a long cloak in arm.

"What is that?" There must've been some aspect to it that was relevant. Surely, he didn't expect her to believe they drape this over themselves and go running around the castle after hours looking like a terrible muggle Halloween ghost. Quin took her right arm and draped it over, with a knowing smile. Frankie looked went to look at her arm, expecting to just see the cloak upon it, but it wasn't there anymore. She was missing an arm. Frankie could still feel the weight of the cloak on her arm, but neither her arm nor the cloak could be seen. She let out a small yell and jumped back. Her ligaments reappeared as the cloak fell to the ground.

"An invisibility cloak," Frankie gasped, answering her own question. "Since, when do you have this?"

"It's not mine. It belongs to Aidan, actually. His dad gave it to him when we started school. It's how we never get caught sneaking out." Quin answered.

"So, why are you telling me this?"

"He said you can use it to go find Hagrid." he answered, picking up the cloak off the ground and handing it to her.

"Are you really sure it's ok?" she inquired, yet accepted the cloak in arms.

"Just as long as you don't tell anyone about it."

"I won't." Frankie promised, crossing her heart. She had been so keen to go at first, but now that he was no longer holding her back she got kind of nervous about it. "Come with me."

"Tempting an offer, but you'll need all of that cloak and more to fit Hagrid under," Quin replied, with an awkward sort of smile. "You can go alone. I believe in you."

Frankie nodded, wrapped the cloak over herself, and headed for the portrait hole. Quin opened it as she slipped out. The cloak seemed pointless as she walked down the stairs to find absolutely no teacher patrolling the night, not even Pringle. Frankie still cautiously and quietly made her way down to the dungeons. She expected it to be as empty as all the other corridors, but it was soon clear why they were all empty. All of the teachers, including Professor Dippet, stood chatting with worried expressions in scattered groups. She carefully shimmed around teachers to see what was causing such a commotion. It was these dark hooded figures that were carrying off someone stunned and bound. There was one person who seemed out of place in this disturbing scene.

_Tom!_

She threw off the cloak and grabbed Tom by the arm.

"What the—Frankie?" he answered, turning his attention away from the scene to the girl that seemed to appear out of thin air. What was she doing here? How could she have gotten there?

"What is going on?" she asked, looking wildly around at the scene. She now noticed, upon second examination, that those weren't just any black hooded figures. They were Dementors, dark creatures that feed on happiness and sucked the life out of you. Also, that was Hagrid they were carrying away in shackles.

"It's none of your concern." Tom insisted, trying to avoid her gaze. He didn't know how she got here, but she wasn't supposed be.

"Why won't you tell me?" Frankie asked, panicking. "Where are they taking him?"

"It's all over now. It turns out Rubeus was the one behind all those accidents."

"That's impossible! Hagrid would never…"

"I know you two were good friends, but—"

"No! I won't believe it!"

"Calm down. I know that Acromantula didn't hurt you, but that was only—"

"Aragog isn't a monster! I saw the real monster, Tom. It was a Basilisk!" Frankie yelled. Tom's eyes widened. What in the world? How much did she see? She actually saw the Basilisk, how was she not dead or petrified. If she actually did see the Basilisk, did she see him as well?

"You're acting hysteric. You must be sick. Come on, I'll—"

"Get away from me! I'm not sick. I'm telling you I saw a Basilisk!" she screamed, pushing away his helping hand. The frustration was building up inside her. He did not believe her. After all they had been through together, he didn't trust her when she said she had seen a Basilisk. How could he do that to her? And do something like this to Hagrid? She was seeming to just be realizing one of her best friends was a monster. And it was not the one in chains.

Frankie was not calming down and Tom had to do something before she started drawing attention to them. He withdrew his wand from his robes to silence her, but, suddenly, she just collapsed into his arms. He hadn't cast a spell on her, yet she had fallen under the immense shock and stress he had brought upon her fragile brain _._ He put away his wand quickly, before the teachers finally noticed both of them standing there. They all gasped and there was a quick rush for Nurse Glinda, while Tom set down her body and just stared down at her.

_I'm sorry…_


	38. A Summer Apart

_When did you grow up? It seems like only yesterday you were six. Has it really been ten years? The only one immune to my charms. Why are you the only thing in my life I have no control over?_

It was Monday evening, when Tom finally came around to visit Frankie in the hospital wing. He hadn't gotten a chance to visit, since he had carried her up on Friday. He had been busy with his O.W.L retakes from when he was stuck there. Normally, visiting hours didn't go after supper time, but being the hero of the school gave you special exceptions. Also, since the horrible culprit of all those accidents had been reprimanded, everyone was left to enjoy the small time they had left and the school was a lot more relaxed than it had been in months. He sat down in the seat beside her hospital bed, like she had been doing for him just last week, and now it was her turn to be the one scowling in the hospital bed. Apparently, according to Dylan, she wasn't speaking to anyone who came by to visit her. At first Tom thought that it couldn't possibly include him, but the second she saw him entering the wing she immediately and very obviously looked the other way, out of spite.

"Stop being so childish." Tom commanded, sitting down in the visitor's seat despite her contempt. He knew she was going to be a little upset at him for framing that half-breed oaf, but this was ridiculous. She didn't answer him, clinging to her angry and childish manor. Her hazel eyes remaining fixed at the other side of the room, "You have no right to be angry with me."

Still, she said nothing.

"I know he was a friend of yours, but that doesn't make him innocent," he continued, despite the fact that she was not answering. Surely, she must have at least been listening to him. "Sometimes people are not always who they appear to be…"

"I'm not angry, Tom…"she smiled, too much surprise. Although, as a person who had examined her smile for many years, Tom could tell there was something amiss. Her fake smile faded and her voice slowly dropped from honeyed sweet into a chilling darkness,

"I'm just a little upset that you sent one of my friends to prison."

"It's not like I had a choice," Tom snapped back, shooting up from the chair to tower above her. It was a little close to the truth that he knew Hagrid wasn't the culprit and still blamed him, but Tom didn't care at the moment. Her hostility was getting him angry. Why couldn't she be grateful for what he had just done for her? For them. Now, they could remain together and the school could remain open. "It was either him or you!"

"I would've gone! I would've gone to Azkaban, rather than betray an innocent person." Frankie yelled back at him, psychotically. She stood up on her bed to tower above him more, her eyes wild and crazy they didn't even look hazel anymore. Tom’s decision had clearly pushed her somewhat over the edge.

"I did what I needed to save you and the school." he stated, trying to remain calm despite her irrational lashing out at him.

"Why? Why would you do something so horrible to save me?" she yelled, hysterically. "To protect someone like me…"

"Listen, will you calm down," he ordered, grabbing her arms, trying to make her face him properly. Was it really not obvious why he had done what he had done? "Do you remember once when you said that you couldn't survive without me?"

"Possibly."

"Well, I can't survive without you!" Tom yelled, looking up into the face of the towering girl. The storm in her eyes seemed to die down, as he said these words. It was working. "If you went off to Azkaban…I don't know what I'd do."

For the first time since his visit she seemed to turn back to her normal self. Her angry glare was turning into a small frown, as she stepped onto the floor, and he regained his small amount of height over her.

"I understand. I’m sorry..." Frankie whispered, quietly, looking down at her toes. There was a slight singe of grief and suffering ringing in her voice. It sounded like a weakness, something that was literally impossible. It almost sounded like she hated the fact she kept forgiving him. "I should still be furious about what you've done, but I can't be. Why is that?"

"It's just who you are," Tom sighed, with relief. He sat back down and relaxed a little now that her screaming had been neutralized by sweet and sappy words. "You can't stay mad at anyone."

"I know you. You’re not going to apologize and staying angry at you isn’t going to do anything to bring Hagrid back. It’s useless to hold a grudge.” she added, sitting back down onto the hospital bed.

"Says the girl who has had a grudge against that insolent trio of Slytherin girls since her first year at school."

"And whose fault do you think that is? They wouldn't hate me so much if it weren't for you."

"Oh, is that so?" Tom inquired, trying to feign cluelessness, even though he had known the intentions of those girls for over five years now.

"Yes. Luckily, they don't know that we still live together and spend all of our summers together. They would probably try to murder me…again," Frankie added, with a small laugh. She remembered telling Leri once, when she still thought they were friends, thankfully, she didn’t seem to remember.  Or she foolishly believed they were both adopted and living with different families. "By the way, it's the last week of school now. Are you ready to go back to the orphanage?"

"About that…" he started. It was one of the reasons he had come on this visit her, other than just wanting to see that she was okay. There was actually something he needed to tell her that regarded their summer plans. "I'm not going back to the orphanage this summer. I'm going to see my uncle and grandfather…"

"You have relatives?" she remarked, sounding surprised. Frankie slightly frowned. It was shocking to hear. Out of all the orphans at Wool's Orphanage, Tom was the one who had literally been left without any roots to his family. He had been born and raised in the orphanage. How long exactly had she been out?

"I hope so," Tom added, reassuringly. He had expected her to take it this way, considering she was still an orphan with no one. If she had any relatives left, they would've claimed her the day her parents died. Her family was that type. With the discovery of who his family was came the realization, he still had some that were alive, even if his mother was gone. Wizarding family, just waiting to meet him. Unfortunately, his uncle and grandfather probably didn't want to meet him He was the son of a muggle and tarnished their perfect pureblood line, but they would meet him anyway. Perhaps, there was a slight chance they didn't even know he existed. Once they had gotten to meet him and he told them of his deeds as the Heir of Slytherin, surely, they would accept him, "I won't be gone forever. It's just for this summer."

"Promise me, you'll come back soon. You wouldn’t leave me in that awful place alone all summer, would you?" Frankie remarked, her voice a little wobbly. She was holding out her pinky. It was a childish thing to make him promise, considering he had actually found his family and had the opportunity to escape the orphanage at long last. They would keep him. If he really had a family out there, Frankie knew once they met him, they would reclaim him, and she’d be left alone in London, waiting for another two years to get out.

"I’ll come back. I promise.” Tom replied, interlocking his pinky with hers. It was one ritual that hadn’t changed from when they were six. They acted as if a pinky promise was stronger than an Unbreakable Vow. And, to them, it was. As much as he wished to escape the orphanage, he had already made a promise to her that the day they left the orphanage they would do it together. Even if his relatives wanted him to stay, Tom was not about to leave Frankie in the orphanage alone.

"I'll write you," she added, as she pulled her pinky away. Frankie doubted they were in the range of floating parchment, but she had enough money saved to afford her own owl. Although, Mrs. Cole was surely not going to like it, she found in this moment she didn’t care what the consequences could possibly be. Being there without Tom would be punishment enough. "Where do they live anyway?"

"A town called Little Hangleton. It's not too far away." he answered, returning his hand to his side.

Frankie was released from the hospital wing the next day, in a much better mood from when she entered. Not only did she make up with Tom, she was no longer being called a murderer by random people passing by in the hallway. After apologizing to her friends about her foul attitude over the past few days, she was once again allowed to continue living her normal school life and enjoy the rest of her fifth year.

Unfortunately, being in the hospital, she hadn't gotten the chance to start packing up all her stuff for summer. There was a lot she had to do, so while everyone went off to supper she escaped the flow and started walking up the stairs to start packing her things. However, she was blocked by a figure her on her path up the marble staircase. Dumbledore was slowly walking down the stairs towards her, his long emerald robes flowing behind him with each step he took.

"Good evening, Professor Dumbledore." Frankie smiled, trying to look like she wasn't doing something suspicious. She wasn't really, but she had seen how easy it was to assume the worst out of someone and blame them for something they didn't do. 'She's skipping out on supper, someone better call the wizard cops. She's up to something wicked!'

"Good evening," Dumbledore replied, in his normal calm voice. "Where may I ask are you running off too? Supper is not that way."

"I wanted to start packing for summer holiday. Since I was in the hospital wing, I haven't gotten around to it yet."

"Yes, summer holiday is finally arriving after a long stressful year," he sighed. "I assume Tom has already told you of his plans?"

"Yes. We discussed it yesterday," she answered, simply. She was trying not to let it show how it bothered her. However, she couldn't stop a small frown from growing on her face. A summer without him was going to be so horrid. How was she ever to survive? "I guess I will be going back to the orphanage alone this summer."

"Well, if he is doing some family research, I would advise you to do some as well."

"What do you mean, sir?"

"If I were you, I'd think about taking a trip to Godric's Hollow."

"Godric's Hollow?" She had heard the name a few times over the years, but she didn't actually know what it was. She always thought her ancestor owned that tree by the lake or something like that, but apparently it was something else. Or maybe it was one of those things she did know, but hurt too much to think about. It wouldn’t be surprising if it really had something to do with her family.

"Yes. A small town where wizards and witches live alongside Muggles. The town where you were born."

"Me?" Frankie remarked, disbelievingly. For as long as she could remember her family had lived in the muggle world. She had been born at St Bartholomew's Hospital and then grew up as a muggle in London. Then again, her parents never had been the most honest regarding her past, or theirs.

"Although you only lived there briefly, it was the place you were born. Your parents were both born there, all of your relatives have come from there," he explained. "If you wish, I can arrange for you to spend your summer in Godric's Hollow and when the time comes I shall come and get you for Hagrid's trial."

"It would be a whole lot better than spending the summer at the orphanage alone," she answered, truthfully. "Thank you, sir."

"Think nothing of it," Dumbledore smiled. Although he said that, she knew he had done it so she wouldn't have to suffer in that awful place alone. He was looking out for her, like always. "Now, I suggest you go upstairs and start to pack your things."

"Of course, sir." Frankie smiled back, beginning to walk up the marble steps past him.

In a few days' time, everyone was boarding that same old, scarlet red steam engine for platform 9 ¾, including Frankie and Tom. This time the two would not have to pass through the stone pillar to get yelled at by Mrs. Cole. Dumbledore had given her a message and she wouldn't be there waiting this time.

"I'll miss you."

"Likewise..."

The two said their final goodbyes at the pillar between platforms 9 and 10 and then headed off for two different trains.

Tom had arrived in Little Hangleton just as the sun was starting set a few days later. He was absolutely exhausted from a rather long train ride and about a mile walk into town. He slithered into the only hotel in town and up to the check-in desk, desperate to sleep in an actual bed. A droopy eyed woman stared at him with surprise as he approached. They must not get many visitors here. She checked him in and gave him the key.

"MARJORIE!" she yelled, suddenly. A young girl with straggly, light red hair, stumbled out from behind him. Tom recoiled out of mostly shock. Surprisingly, the girl looked to be around his age instead of another middle-aged woman. "Take his trunk to his room. It's room seven!"

"Follow me, sir." the girl called Marjorie mumbled. Her long hair slipped away, as she bent down to pick up his trunk, revealing a pair of pale blue eyes. He followed behind her up the wooden staircase and down the hall in silence, until they finally arrived at a dusty looking door.

"I hope you enjoy your stay, sir." Marjorie muttered, starting to leave. She got a third of the way down the hall, before Tom finally decided to say something to her.

"There's no need to keep calling me 'sir'," Tom added. She stopped in her tracks and turned around to face him again. "We must be about the same age."

"Well, what is your name then?" she asked, a bit more confidently.

"It's Tom. Tom Riddle." he responded, taken back a little by her sudden burst of confidence. She swept her long hair out of her face, so her pale blue eyes could get a good look at this boy called Tom Riddle. Then suddenly she gasped and sunk onto the floor in a low bow.

"Oh no, you must be a relative of the Riddle family!" Marjorie gasped, sounding absolutely terrified. "I'm terribly sorry, Mr. Riddle, sir. I did not know. Please forgive me."

"What are you talking about?" Tom asked, eyeing her suspiciously.

"I suppose you aren't related to them, then? They have lived here for ages, own most of the town." she answered, very quickly. Tom mind suddenly started buzzing. If there were Riddles here along with the Gaunts, of course they were his relatives on his father's side. That old bastard might still even be sitting there amongst them.

"No, I'm not related to them. So, you can raise your head and stop calling me 'sir', alright?"

Marjorie looked up and actually smiled at him. It wasn't anything compared to a smile like Frankie’s, however, it wasn't a completely horrible thing. She picked up his trunk again and opened the door in front of them. The room was bigger than his room at the orphanage, but still rather small. It contained the necessary necessities of a room. A bed, a wardrobe, a desk with a chair. The quality in which weren't terrible either, considering. However, it didn't matter much. He would hopefully not be staying there too long.

"So, how old are you?" Marjorie asked, in an attempt to keep the conversation going.

"Sixteen." Tom replied, not stopping looking around the room to address her.

"I'm sixteen, as well." Marjorie smiled. "Are you traveling alone? Where are your parents?"

"Dead." Tom answered, simply. He did not want to have to explain the complexity that one of them might possibly be living a little more than a mile away.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." she gasped, dropping the trunk on to the ground.

"It's fine…" he assured her. Tom hadn't ever once mourned the death of those people who could barely be called parents at all and he sure as hell wasn't about to start now.

"The same thing happened to me too. My parents died when I was ten." Marjorie admitted.

"It seems to happen a lot," Tom answered, instead of giving her words of comfort. "It's not a big deal."

"I guess so…" Marjorie replied, letting her mind wander for a sec before changing the subject again. "This is a big trunk. How long are you staying?"

"Not too long, it's just that I've come straight from boarding school. I usually spend my summer holiday at a filthy, muggle orphanage—"

"Hang on, did you just say 'muggle'?" she interrupted.

"Um—you—must have misheard me." he stuttered, trying to cover up his foolish mistake. It was too late to have worked, though.

"No. I didn't mishear you!" Marjorie shouted back. Tom expected to get another muggle asking him questions about the phrase or another lecture on making up words, like Mrs. Cole enjoyed giving him. "I knew it. You're a wizard."

"So, you must be a witch then?" Tom asked, giving up on his obvious attempt at lying and realizing he really didn’t need to anymore.

"Yes. I'm a half-blood. Muggle father, witch mother."

"The same is said for me."

"I've never met another wizard my age before!" Marjorie added, still in shock and awe by the sudden discovery.

"Really?" Tom remarked, sounding generally surprised. Marjorie was staring at him so intently, she couldn't have been lying. He remembered the first time he had met one of their kind. A little girl with long brown hair, he couldn't stop staring either. "Don't you attend a wizarding school?"

"I don't exactly have the money to afford to go, so I'm stuck in a stupid muggle school in the village," she pouted. "What school do you attend?"

"Hogwarts," he answered, with pride. "You have heard of it, right?"

"Of course! Who hasn't heard of—"

A sudden loud noise at the window drew their attention away from idle conversation. An owl was looking at them with anger and desperation as it repeatedly rammed it's beak into the glass. Marjorie rushed to the window to let it in and it immediately glided over to Tom. After it deposited a letter in his hands, the owl decided to perch itself on his shoulder. It was an odd looking owl. The owl's entire body was pitch black, except it's right wing was pure white. It was almost like a small cast wrapped around its wing. Tom took one look at the front and immediately knew who it was from. His name and the town were written in her neat script with a small drawing of a rabbit was sitting on the corner of the envelope. Even though he only knew one person who would actually write to him, the envelope was a dead giveaway it was from Frankie. He ripped open the letter,

" _Dear Tom,_

_I hope this letter gets to you soon, or at all, for that matter. As you can see, I finally got my very own owl. His name is Twilit. I know he's a little strange looking, but I really like him and I've always wanted my own owl. I didn't know your uncle and grandfather's address, so I just wrote down your name, where you were, and showed him the locket picture. Owls are said to be extremely intelligent, so hopefully he got the message and is able to locate you. I arrived at Godric's Hollow a couple days ago and I'm really enjoying myself so far. I know this year was rather stressful, what with everything that happened, so I hope you're doing all right as well. Have fun with your grandfather and uncle._

_Hope to see you soon,_

_Frankie”_

It was nothing much, but it made Tom feel somewhat more relaxed. He was sure she would get herself into some kind of trouble by now. However, perhaps that was just him being more protective of her.

"Who's that? Your girlfriend," Marjorie questioned, trying to get a better look. She was peering over his shoulder, but her straggly red hair was getting in the way.

"That's a bit too personal, don't you think?" Tom remarked, trying to handle both the girl and the owl. "I mean, I hardly know you."

"Sorry, I'm just very curious. I don't get many people my age around her, let alone wizards." she

"It's fine."

"So, who is she?"

"She's –not my—girlfriend," he was all he manage to retort back at her and even then he had trouble getting the words out. She gave him a relieved, yet ‘I-still-don't-believe-you’ kind of look before heading towards the door.

"I have to go prepare supper. I'll talk to you later then." Marjorie smiled, waving goodbye. Just then, as if right on schedule, a shout of her name beckoned her to return. She quickened her pace and slammed the door behind her. Now, Tom sat on his bed with Twilit happily flying laps around the room, successfully having achieved his first delivery. Finally alone, he lay down on his bed and thought about the girl he had just met. She reminded him of Frankie's friend Dylan, the only other Gryffindor that Tom could semi-tolerate.

She was interesting…

Unlike Tom, it had taken Frankie only hours to get to Godric Hollow. Frankie was walking down the path towards her even older house. Dumbledore had arranged for her to stay in the house her parents used to live in before they had to go into hiding. She stared around at the many cottages with children playing out in front. Most likely some were muggle and some were wizard. That's how the rest of the world should be you would think, if only life were that simple. Frankie arrived at a rusting gate of an old memory. She did not remember it, yet it had a nostalgic air about it. She entered the house and still nothing had come back, but it felt so familiar. The house was not empty; dozens of things had been left inside the house. They must have had to leave a lot of things behind when they ran.

Frankie began opening all the windows, in an effort to try and air out some of the dust. She was in the middle of opening another window, when she spotted a tall perfect figure with long flowing blonde hair walking in the abendrot sunlight. Frankie leaned so far out of the window that she tumbled onto the crisp green grass. The girl walking nearby took immediate notice of her. Most likely you would too, if you saw someone fall out their window. She rushed to Frankie's side to help her up, but then stopped. She took a better look and blinked at her, dumbstruck.

"Frankie? What are you doing here?" It was none other than Dylan. Frankie rubbed her eyes, as if they were playing tricks on her as well. Surely enough, her friend was not a hallucinated image she had sewn across the strangers face. It was really Dylan.

"Well, what are you doing here?" she asked, in return.

"I live here. Just a few blocks down the road," Dylan answered, pointing off in the east down the stone path. "Where's Tom? Isn't he with you?"

"No. He's in Little Hangleton with his uncle and grandfather." Frankie explained, finally getting up from the grass.

"Don't tell me they took him in! What about you—"

"Relax. He just went for a visit and I didn't want to go back to the orphanage alone so I came here," Frankie replied, as she wiped pieces of grass from her butt. "This is my parent's old house."

Dylan added, looking up at the house, "Well, then. I suppose I can help you fix it up a bit. It’s kind of a dump, no one’s lived in it since your parents."

"What? No, you really don't have to. It's just for summer." Frankie stammered, frantically.

"Nonsense! I don't have anything else to do and besides it won't take long." Dylan answered, insistently. Frankie had no choice, but to let her help. She nodded and the two went inside to start. They spent their time dusting and other various cleaning chores, yet it still didn't seem to be getting any cleaner. The both of them combined weren't enough to get rid of years of grim, especially with the cleaning supplies they had.

"Dylan, do they have a shop that sells owls around here?" Frankie asked, suddenly, as she was dusting the bottom of the staircase.

"They actually do. The muggles just think it's some kind of strange pet shop, so they don't even have to disguise it," Dylan explained, stopping sweeping and holding up her broom. "Why?"

"I was just thinking about getting an owl. So, I could mail Tom."

"Then, you should go. I'll hold down the fort here."

"Now? Are you sure?"

"I already said I'm sure, now go on. You should explore the town before everything closes," Dylan answered, cheerfully.

"Alright, I'll be back real soon." Frankie added, still a sounding a little unsure.

She exited the house a few minutes later with a small purse that hung around her white dress, to hold her money. It was the typical sunny summer weather, except unlike in London it seemed more beautiful here. The tall trees and the quant cottages gave it a warm, homelike atmosphere. She gazed down at a small piece of parchment in her hands, which Dylan had written the directions on, and started searching the streets for the shop. Eventually, she found it, after minutes of wandering around blindly. The shop was the same one you would find on Diagon Alley. Cages of rats, cats, toads and owls piled the inside of the small shop. How the muggles did not find this odd, she didn't know. The shopkeeper gave her a hearty welcome and she replied with a distracted mumble of a greeting. She was too focused on the many cages of animals.

"Can I help you find anything?"

"Um yes… I'm looking for an owl."

"Of course…"

The shopkeeper introduced her to many owls. The barn owl seemed to be judging her, before it turned its head all the way around. The tawny didn't acknowledge her presence and kept staring off into space. Eventually, he had shown her all the owls in the shop and none of them seemed to fit her or like her. Then, suddenly, she heard a very loud hooting that didn't match any of the other owls in the room. She homed out the source and found an owl that was in a cage hidden behind the counter. Frankie leaned over the counter to see a small black owl with one silvery white wing.

"Ah sorry, miss. A very unfortunate owl he was supposed to be a snowy owl but— well— as you can see, something went wrong. He's defected."

"I'll take him." Frankie stated, holding back a scowl of contempt. Defected? How rude. The poor thing was likely to be chucked out or worst. The shopkeeper stared at her funny, as if she were joking. However, she held out her money and paid for the apparently "defected" owl with as much seriousness as she could muster.

She walked out of the shop carrying the cage with the owl hooting happily inside. He seemed very excited that Frankie was taking him off to somewhere new. She smiled down at her new owl as she walked down the path. Now, the only question was what to name him. After moments of deep thought, she came up with the name Twilit because of his white moon wing among its dark black feathers. Not twilight, but Twilit. It was an odd sort of name for an odd owl. Frankie was almost back at her house when she saw a boy with dark hair, standing in front of her gate, holding a bucket.

"Oi, what are you doing loitering about in front of my house?" she yelled, running as fast as she could with an owl cage in her hand. The boy gave her a puzzled look.

"Since, when have you been my neighbor, Frankie?"

Aidan Potter was the boy who was staring at her with puzzlement. They spent a couple moments in an intense stare, trying to determine if the other was real, or the summer sun was just playing tricks on them.

"Aidan?" Frankie inquired, as she took a closer look at the boy. "Do you live here too?"

"Too? You must have seen Dylan already. Figures why she wanted us to come here."

"Us?"

Two more boys came running down the path, also carrying buckets. Of course if one of them was here, the other two had to be somewhere nearby. Frankie suddenly remembered where she had heard the name Godric's Hollow. Dylan, Aidan, Quin, and Ethan, all lived here.

"Aidan, what's going on? Why does—"Quin started panting, as he and Ethan halted to a stop. He looked at Frankie blinking rapidly. "How long have you been here?"

"I'm just staying here for the summer. It's not a big deal." Frankie answered. Dylan exited the house and casually walked up to the gate, like she hadn't just caused a bit of an awkward situation by not telling everyone all the details.

"I see you guys have found her."

"Why didn't you tell us you she was going to be here?" Aidan asked, sounding highly offended.

"I just found out a little while ago. She must’ve taken the muggle train in." Dylan snapped back, in defense.

"I told you several times! It's always been Frankie."

"Wha—"

"Yes, you were right and I was wrong. Are you satisfied?"

"Um—"

"You've got to come over and meet my mum. She's going to have a bloody heart attack finally getting to see you."

"Dylan, why'd you tell us to bring buckets?" Quin snapped, holding up his bucket. Clearly, not getting the air, he tried to make sense of Dylan's original statement. Dylan let out a small laugh at the timing of his random question.

"No reason," Dylan smiled, innocently. "Well, I suppose we could make good use of them. We were just about to mop the floors."

It was a few weeks later in Little Hangleton and Tom woke up like any other morning. He still didn't know if his uncle and grandfather really were there or not and hadn't learned any new information on the Riddles either. He was beginning to get frustrated how long the trail was running cold. Tom was actually getting to the point that he wished he was at the orphanage.

"Are you up yet?" a voice said, from behind the door. It was yet another wake-up call he didn't need from a girl he could care less about. She had been a useful source of information on their first meeting, but had not gotten anything more since then. All she wanted to talk to him was about their world, which she had been unfortunately excluded from. He didn’t blame her for wanting to know about the wonderful world of wizards and witches, but Tom also had things he needed to know. She had answers to tell him and, if he wanted them, he would need to take some sort of action.

"Yes, I'm awake." he answered, with a small yawn. Tom was sitting in a chair by the window, mindlessly staring, seemingly waiting. Marjorie entered the room without caution. She had grown very comfortable with him over the past couple of weeks.

"Good morning, Tom." she greeted, as she walked over to him. Her red hair was in pigtails again this morning. She’d been wearing her hair this way recently, for some odd reason, and Tom had to admit it was a welcomed improvement. "Waiting for another letter again?"

"No," Tom lied. Of course, he was waiting for another letter from Frankie. It was all there was to look forward to. Apparently, according to her last letter, Quin was in Godric’s Hollow with her, which put him a little on edge. If he’d known that idiot was also going to be in that town, Tom wouldn’t have let her go spend even more time with him. "Just sitting."

"You haven't gotten one in a while? Perhaps, she's forgotten about you." Marjorie added, her voice ringing with a lot of fake sympathy.

"Probably." Tom sighed, even though it was not what he believed. Frankie would not be able to forget about him, even if she tried.

"Sorry to hear about that…" Marjorie responded, a little more actually sympathetic this time. "Was she a very good friend?"

"No. Not really," he lied, again.

"Would you care to go into town with me, then? I have to get ingredients for supper and, who knows, a walk through town might take your mind off her."

"That sounds excellent," Tom smiled. Acting like Frankie meant nothing to him was just elevating a new arising plan. What a better way to get information then being toured around the town by a lovely tour guide. Surely, he could weed the information he wanted to know out of her this way. Then, he could get out of here. "I'll meet you downstairs in five."


	39. Not the Same

_"Tom!"_

Of course, the voice calling his name now was not the same one that was ringing through his head...

Marjorie had invited Tom out to show him around town a bit, after noticing that he spent most of his time hauled up in his room waiting for letters. He had only said yes because he thought it was about time to start getting some answers, so he could leave here and get back to London as quickly as possible. The outing was merely an excuse to search the town with a lovely tour guide to tell him everything he wanted to know. However, thus far, she seemed more captured by the different kinds of food and products on the streets around them rather than actually telling him about the town history. The two were walking throughout the Sunday market in Little Hangleton, getting ingredients for Mrs. Alwena to make supper later. Tom ended up just drowning out her presence and trying to search for any sign of the Gaunts on his own. Perhaps a sign of any Riddles, as well. If his father was here, he would surely know him when he saw him.

"Yes." Tom answered, although he still wasn't really paying attention to a word she had said. He was sure she had called out to him a moment ago. Quite possibly... 80% positive.

"Look at these!" Marjorie exclaimed, excitedly. She was pointing at a bouquet of small blue flowers amongst a sea of blinding colors and strong fragrances coming from the stand they were walking front of. "Forget-me-nots…"

"They're pretty," Tom remarked, examining them a little closer. He didn’t really care for flowers much, though, nowadays. After the drowning of flowers he got at the end of the last school year, the sight of them made him kind of sick now. However, looking at them, he came up with the most brilliant spur-of-the-moment idea. "Excuse me, vendor. I'll take this one."

"Oh, Tom. You don't have to…"

"They suit you." Tom smiled, charmingly, handing her the pale blue bouquet.

"Really?"

"Yes. They match your eyes."

"Thank you!" Marjorie added, falling for his cheap cliché line. They were just about to continue walking on, when Tom gaze got locked on a bunch of pale pink flowers. They smelled like Sugar Quills, with just a hint of Crystallised Pineapples.

"What are those?" Tom asked, looking at the flowers with some interest.

“Carnations, sir.”

They reminded him of someone and it wasn’t that hard to guess who. Now, that he thought about it, today was Sunday. It was their day and he was walking with another girl in a town far, far away. Tom instantly felt like rushing back to the inn to wait by the window. He was breaking their promise. He could still remember the childish and desperate look on her face, as she held out her pinky, many years ago, _"Oh, come on, Tom! Please don’t be angry with me. I promise we'll go on a walk every Sunday from now on.”_

"Come on, Tom. Let's go look over there." Marjorie remarked, pulling on his arm and pointing to another stand across the way. The two continued to walk throughout the market buying ingredients and examining goods, until the crowd died down and the vendors became scarce. They had almost reached the end. Marjorie was walking hastily through stopping abruptly every couple of minutes. She was so focused on the things going on around her, she wasn’t watching where she was going.

CRASH!

An old woman lay on the ground, surrounded by a dozen red apples and the petals from Marjorie’s bouquet. Marjorie sat up, hysterically apologizing to the woman and starting to pick up all the apples, while Tom just stared at the scene. It's exactly what Frankie would have done. Then, his eyes caught a middle-aged woman with long blonde hair stood beside them, not making any notion of helping as well. Tom cringed a bit, thinking she looked a lot like an older Leri. She was glowering down at Marjorie with her cold, icy blue eyes.

" _Insolent girl_! You should really watch where you're going."

"I'm very sorry." Marjorie muttered, stopping helping the older woman to give the middle-aged one a low bow.

"Oh, I know you. You're that filthy girl who works at that dingy inn on the other side of town." she snarled, adverting her gaze from a specimen that wasn’t work her acknowledgement.

"Yes, Mrs. Riddle." Marjorie answered, politely. The alarm in Tom’s brain started going off and he stared at the two women in a new light now. He sprung to help the old woman back onto here feet, while Marjorie continued to scramble to pick up all the apples. The old woman had been staring at Tom with an odd kind smile and a sudden spark of light in her eyes, ever since she had fallen.

"You're so kind, young man…”

"Uh…thank you, madam." Tom grinned, trying to ignore her stare and put up a charming facade. However, the sound of his voice merely made her even more excited.

"Oh, Cecilia. Doesn't he look like—?”

Not even allowing the old woman to complete her sentence she put her hand up and silenced her. Then, suddenly she turned her attention to the boy she had been ignoring this whole time. She circled him like a vulture, determined to examine him from every possible angle. Finally, after she seemed satisfied enough, she stopped and quickly turned away. Tom could swear that he heard her even faintly whisper, _"_ _Impossible_ _!"_

"What is it?" Tom asked, sounding confused. However, he knew what they were both thinking in their hearts. _“_ _He looks exactly like our Tom.”_ Mrs. Cole had told him his mother was hoping that he would turn out looking like his father, right before she died. Her dying wish must’ve come true then. He must’ve been an exact replica of Tom Riddle Sr. to get such a strong reaction.

"Mary, you must be mistaken. They look nothing alike," the woman called Cecilia answered, coldly. However, there was a flicker in her eyes that said she thought otherwise. She acknowledged him one last time, just to make sure he was someone she needed to lie to herself about, before yanking the basket of apples from Marjorie’s arms. "Come on, we should be getting back now. Tom must be getting worried about us."

Tom stared on, as the two women hastily walked away from the streets towards the huge old manor up on the hill, still trying to let the reality of what just happened sink in. He had just come in actual contact with his relatives from his father's side and from what they said he was still up there. That man was still alive. Tom could just picture his father sitting in the old manor, after all the years, taking no consequences for his actions and living a perfect peaceful life. It made him furious.

"Tom, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Let's start heading back, now…"

Tom was eager to get back to the inn as soon as he possibly could, so he could lock himself in his room and think properly about what just happened. He was moving at a fast pace through the cobbled streets, checking behind him every once in a while to make sure Marjorie was still following behind him. However, the fourth or fifth time he checked, she had stopped completely. Tom backtracked to see what she found so interesting that she needed to stop and stare at it. An old dingy shack stood in front of them. It reminded Tom of the Shrieking Shack, except worst. Wood was falling off in every area and there were several holes that were only slightly covered by vines. It looked like octopus arms were trying to grab the structure and pull it under. The house had a crushed and forgotten air about it. She was staring at it with a somber gloomy expression, like she was about to start crying.

“What is it?” he asked, in a fake-concerned voice. Much too sweet to be his real concerned voice, but she certainly hadn’t known him long enough to possibly tell the difference.

“It’s nothing…”

“It’s clearly not nothing.” Tom stated. He knew from experience with Frankie that when a girl said it was nothing it usually meant it was something. The path seemed to be fine except for that eyesore of a house. If someone could even think of it as that. Her eyes shifted nervously back and forth between him and the old shack. Tom looked at it too. It seemed to be just a dump, but Marjorie looked terrified of it.

"It's…just that shack…"

"What about it?" Tom asked, thinking it was odd to be afraid of something so pitiful.

"Ever since I was little, I've always been afraid of this place. I get paralyzed at the sight of it even now," she admitted. "The people who lived here were terrible wizards. They were always hurting people, whether they were muggle or not."

"Do they live here anymore?" Tom asked, curiously.

"It’s not like I really come around and check."

"Right, sorry,” he laughed, nervously. By her tone, he was starting to lose her. A family of terrible wizards, it didn’t take him long to guess his own family. However, he still had to make certain that he was right, “Can you tell me what their names were?"

"I didn’t know any of them personally, but their family name was the Gaunts," Marjorie answered. “Why do you ask?”

"I was just being curious,” Tom stated. He looked back at the rundown house as they began to walk back the way they came, hoping to see a glimmer of life still inside. However, the house remained lifeless and still.

After a while, Tom was finally able to shut himself back into his room to think about everything he had found out. Marjorie had played her part well towards the end, but he needed more about information about the Gaunts. It was possible that they were not even alive anymore, considering the state of the Gaunt house. He was gazing out the window at the Riddle manor and the Gaunt house. They were both in eyesight, not far from each other, despite the fact the manor was on a giant hill overlooking the town. He couldn’t help but wonder now, but, how did it happen? His mother was some poor, filthy peasant and his father was practically a king. Tom was not interested in the sentimental story of how his parents fell in love, like most children. He wanted to know how the hell he was even living and was ever created in the first place. They couldn’t have ever been in love. As he got closer to the truth, the less likely it became.

Finally, all the gazing out his window paid off. A small black speck flew for his window. Tom hurried and opened the window right in time for Twilit to fly through. Twilit would have smacked right into the glass if Tom hadn't opened it. He had learned that over the past few weeks. He took the envelope from the owl and ripped it open, with a little bit too much haste. However, in his own defense, it had been weeks. What in god’s name had she been doing all this time?

" _Dear Tom,_

_I'm sorry I haven’t been writing you as much as I promised, but I've been really busy. Lately, I've been learning a lot from Mrs. Bagshot. I mentioned her in my last letter, she and Dumbledore were good friends back in the day and she's writing a book about magical history. We’ll have to read it as soon as it comes out. She also has been able to tell me new things about my parents and their lives here. It turns out I really do have roots in this town. I promise I’ll explain all the details when we get back, which I hope is soon. I'm having so much fun here with all my friends, but, honestly, I kind of actually want to go back to the orphanage soon and see you. I miss you. Hagrid’s trial is in about a week, so that’s when I’ll be back in London. Let me know when you plan on coming back as well._

_Love, Frankie"_

Tom read the letter over and over again, especially the last part, “ _I miss you_.” He still hadn’t gotten any satisfactory confrontations with his flesh yet and he was running out of time to get them. He wasn’t about to leave Frankie alone in the orphanage. Mrs. Cole would soon discover without Tom she was more vulnerable and not at all the evil hell spawn she made her out to be. She’d force Frankie to clean the entire house and take care of the orphans, while she and the other workers sat around gossiping and drinking brandy.

Suddenly, there was a knock on his door and he snapped out of thought. Tom gave the clearance for whoever was there to come in and the owner of the inn, Mrs. Alwena, entered.

"Supper is ready, Tom." she stated. He nodded silently. She was turning to leave again, when Tom suddenly realized she could also be a valuable source of information. She might possibly be able to give him what he needed, so he could get out of here.

"Excuse me, is it alright if I ask you something?"

"Sure, love. What is it?"

"I wondered if you knew anything about the Gaunts…"

"Not too much. Marjorie’s mother and I used to play with their daughter, Merope, when we were small. She was the only sweet one out of the lot of them," Mrs. Alwena, explained. She grew a small smile, most likely replaying the adventures with the straggly haired, pitiful girl that Tom believed to be his mother. However, her expression suddenly grew cold. "It was a shame she had to fall in love with _that_ man."

"What do you mean?" Tom questioned. Although, it really didn’t take that much to figure out who that man was. It was obviously Tom Riddle Sr. Tom hadn’t even met him, but he was already being portrayed as such a monster in his mind, and apparently in everyone else’s too. He had never heard someone like Mrs. Alwena speak with so much hate in her voice. Who didn’t hate that man? Besides, apparently Merope Gaunt.

"There was another Tom Riddle, from the Riddle manor up on the hill. The porcelain prince would sneak out of his castle to come play with us lowly peasants. He didn’t like being spoiled and rotten at first…” She was lost amongst the memories for a moment, meanwhile Tom tried not to look so dumbfounded. His father had to have been like Quin or Malfoy. Spoiled, rich gits, who got everything they ever wanted and all the parental love they’d ever need. He couldn’t have possibly wanted to live amongst the peasants. “However, his parents found out he’d been escaping after he got hurt in an incident with Morfin, Merope’s brother. After that, they locked him up. Then, Morfin told Merope’s father and they locked her up too…”

"Then, what happened?"

"He grew up to be a pompous arse—” Mrs. Alwena put her hand over her mouth, having let foul words fall out. Tom understood though. She was starting to sound like she was actually talking about his father. It made more sense when people said cruel words about him. “His parents raised him all wrong and, once they let him out again, he was terrorizing the town like any Riddle. He even had that dreadful Cecilia Winthrop on his arm as his fiancé to help him harass and strike fear.”

“He was engaged to someone else!?! Then, how did he get—” Tom stopped himself before he let it slip he knew more about the subject then he was letting on and was certainly not just being a curious third party observer. “—I mean, what about Merope? She was in love with him.”

“I’m not quite sure, to be honest. One minute he’s planning his wedding with Cecilia and the next him and Merope are running away together,” Mrs. Alwena replied. “Of course, it didn’t go well. He came back a few years later saying things like he had been hoodwinked and was put under a spell. Then, he married Cecilia and continued on acting like he’d never left.”

"So, he just left her?" Tom snapped, with anger rising in his voice. He was doing his best to restrain it, but sometimes it seemed like he had too much anger to contain. He figured they were never actually in love, she probably did use some kind of spell, but he never imagined it’d be such a one-sided tragedy. For the first time, he actually understood his mother’s feelings.

"Yes, I'm afraid so,” she sighed. She walked to the window next to Tom and gazed out at both the old houses. “I never did know what happened to poor Merope, though. I haven't seen her since...”

"I'm sure she's doing alright. Wherever she is…" Tom added, gazing out the window as well. He could not bring himself to tell this woman that her long lost friend was dead, admit that he knew the tragic end. Even he wasn’t that cruel.

"I'm sure she is," Mrs. Alwena responded, cracking a small smile. "Why'd you want to know about the Gaunts anyway?"

"Marjorie seemed to not enjoy the Gaunt house and I was just curious as to the reason why."

"I can’t tell you that. That's a story I think Marjorie should tell you, when she’s ready." Judging her expression whatever had happened between Marjorie and the Gaunts must’ve been something horrifying. But, seconds later, she went back to her normally cheery disposition. "Come on, enough of this rubbish, let's go eat supper now…"

_I'll be seeing you all in about a month…_

Trunk packed and ready to go, Frankie waving goodbye to her friends as she slipped into the car that was going to take her to the Ministry of Magic. She was going to be testifying at Hagrid’s trial and with any luck she would be able to free him from Azkaban. Dylan, Aidan, Quin and Aidan all surrounded the open car door, wishing her luck and saying their goodbyes. As soon as they were satisfied, they dispersed and stepped back for departure. Except for one stubborn idiot. Quin stood holding the car door open and was staring at her with a blank expression, like he wanted to say something, but couldn’t find the right words.

“Bring that goof home, okay?”

“I’ll try my best.”

The driver indicated it was now time to depart and Quin shut the door between them. The car slowly drove away and Frankie watched her friends, until they turn into small dots in the horizon. She watched the country fly by, as she thought about what she was going to say. Frankie had never been to the Ministry of Magic before and was worried she would appear as a child among all the ministry officials. What if they didn't believe her? If an entire school had not believed her, surely a jury would not believe her either. Twilit's cage sat empty in the seat beside her, bobbing around madly with every little bump in the road. Tom had yet to send him back, possibly waiting until she was back in London so Twilit could learn to find the orphanage. Frankie wished she had at least one of them here to ease her nerves. Perhaps after one simple dose of slumber, this nerve-racking ride would be over.

The next moment she was back in London. The small quiet town replaced with the hustle and bustle of the crowded city streets. The driver was getting out in front of an empty payphone. She looked around at all the buildings. Where was the Ministry?

"Excuse me, sir. Are we here yet?" Frankie asked, confused. Surely, the Ministry of Magic wasn't just a building on Whitehall Road.

"Ah, yes. It’s right through there." he answered, pointing over to the empty telephone booth.

"What?"

"Just dial 62442 and wait," he explained, returning to the driver’s seat. "I'll be taking your trunk back to Wool's Orphanage and Dumbledore will escort you there later this evening.”

Frankie waved farewell the driver, as he sped away with her trunk and the empty owl cage. She entered the empty phone booth, still awkward and unsure about the whole thing, and started dialing the numbers. She stood waiting for something to happen, but nothing. There was a person standing right in front of the booth. Frankie gave an awkward kind of wave before, suddenly she started getting shorter and shorter. The floor was sinking. Frankie was showered in darkness for a second. She sunk lower and lower, until she came into view of a huge place filled with thousands of people in fancy wizard robes, several walking in and out of the gilded fireplaces placed among the walls. Frankie walked out of the phone booth onto the dark wood floor, feeling quit too young and underdressed, just like she had predicted. She hid herself among the many officials, trying to look like she knew what she was doing, while made her way into a random lift.

CRASH!

The lift jerked backward and then sped down. Frankie, not being prepared, now sat on the floor with most of the people trying to pretend like she didn't exist. At the next stop, everyone hastily made their way out of the lift. All except for a tall man with a tangle of blonde hair. He held out his hand and pulled her up onto her feet.

"Thanks." Frankie remarked, brushing herself off. She looked at him closely. He kind of looked like Malfoy at first glance, but in further examination the two were quite different looking. Thank goodness for that. Malfoy’s father did work at the ministry too and she’d rather not meet him.

"It’s no trouble," the man added. "What are you doing here anyway? This is no place for children."

"I am not a child. I'm sixteen years old. Who are you to talk? Surely, you can't be much older than me." Frankie answered, huffily. Looking at the man he had to be in his early twenties, while she was in her late teens.

"What’re you doing here, kid?” he repeated, ignoring her argument.

"I'm here to attend a trial.”

"Which trial is it?"

"Why do you need to know?"

"If you don't tell me, I'll just have to throw you out."

"My friend was wrongly accused of murdering a girl with his pet Acromantula, Aragog.” Frankie admitted, bitterly.

"Oh yeah, I heard about that one," he added. Frankie looked at him, surprised. She didn’t realize it till now, but the story was probably swimming the wizarding world while they were at school. There were people who know who she is and think they know what happened. "A rubbish case, really. The victim would have had bite marks on her if she had been killed by the Acromantula."

"That's true…” It was a fair point she’d like to see a judge try to argue against. “Do you mind if I use that?"

"Sure, but I don't think they will be letting you—"

"I'm somewhat involved with this whole mess. They have to let me speak." What would be the point of this if she wasn’t allowed to speak? What chance would Hagrid have?

_Level 2- Auror Offices_

“This is me. Good luck then.” the man reported, giving her a small wave goodbye as he shuffled out. She tried waving back but got caught by the men shuffling in. Frankie struggled until she popped out of the front of the crowd. If she wasn’t in front of the group, she probably would’ve suffocated.

“Damn thing’s jammed again.” A man remarked, pushing the elevator shut button feverously. Frankie took the moment to look at the Auror Offices. This was where her parents had worked back in the day. Maybe one day she would be working here too.

_“Alastor!”_

A few feet away, a woman had jumped the blonde man Frankie had just been talking to, pulling him into an embrace. She had a slim, young face that was lighter than ivory and had a rosey tint to her cheeks. Her smooth blonde hair with soft curls fell just past her long graceful neck and onto her shoulders. Her electric blue eyes were staring at the man, warm and sparkled with bliss. However, then she caught Frankie’s hazel eyes staring at her from the open lift her eyes seemed to grow pained and shocked. She released the man and ran for the elevator. However, the gates shut right in her face and the lift sped back.

“Ha, guess Diana will have to catch the next one.”

Diana and Alastor, why did those names sound so familiar?

_Level 10 - Wizengamot Courtrooms_

Feeling a bit more confident after the strange meeting she went on to the courtrooms. There were a lot more people then she expected to be here. How many were jurors and how many had just come along for the show? The only person she recognized out of the buzz of people was Dumbledore. He stood by an empty seat he had saved for her in the steadily filling stands.

"Um…hello, sir." Frankie greeted him, waddling her way through the crowd to meet him.

"Ah yes, I'm so glad you could come." Dumbledore smiled, as if he had invited her to a party instead of a murder trial.

"I'll do anything I can to help Hagrid." she answered, confidently. However, Dumbledore did not seem to encourage her confidence. In fact, he seemed to frown upon it.

"I know there will be times that you feel like you must speak out, but you must not speak unless you are spoken to first. Is that clear?" Dumbledore commanded, sharply.

"But I—"

"There will be no argument. If you wish to help Hagrid, you must not speak out of turn," he interrupted. "One sentence could be the difference between innocent and guilty.”

"Yes, sir." Frankie answered, obediently. A sudden silence washed over the crowd and everyone began to take their seats.

Let the trial begin…

Hours later, still in a town very far away, Tom crept through the darkness of night with a lantern in one hand and his wand in the other. He was headed towards the old Gaunt house. He knocked on the splintered wooden door. No answer, but he could hear a slight fumble from inside. Tom creaked open the door and looked around inside. His eyes fixed onto the lone man in the armchair, staring into the blazing flames in the fireplace, surrounded by empty beer bottles. He pushed back his greasy dark hair to see who had dared enter. Suddenly, the man gasped and staggered upright to face him.

_Finally, it begins…_

"YOU!" the man yelled, wildly. He stared at Tom with mad, crazy eyes. "YOU!"

He hurtled at Tom, drunkenly. Only missing Tom, with a knife he wielded, by mere inches. Tom merely sighed at the muggle weapon, despite the fact the man kept viciously swinging it at him. It was too easy to dodge. Where was his wand? It was more pitiful then he thought it would be. Hopefully, this was just a muggle hermit mistaking Tom for his father, rather than a member of his wizarding family. There was only one way to be certain he was indeed speaking to a Gaunt.

 _"Stop!"_ Tom commanded, in Parseltongue. The man rammed into the small coffee table, sending small dead flower-pots crashing onto the floor. There was a long silent pause after that, but it wasn't long before the man broke that too

_"You speak it?"_

_"Yes, I speak it,"_ Tom answered. He entered further into the dingy shack slamming the door shut behind him. His face expressed pure disgust at the man in front of him. He was obviously expecting more grandeur from a wizard from such a noble pureblooded family. Judging by his age, he must’ve been his uncle, Morfin. _"Where's Marvolo?"_

 _"Dead,"_ the man answered, grimly. _"Died years ago, didn't he?"_

_"Who are you, then?"_

_"I'm Morfin, ain't I?"_

_"Marvolo's son?"_

_"'Course I am, then. . ."_

Tom stared, as Morfin pushed his dirty hair from his face, and tried not to back away in repulsion. The Gaunts were supposed to be rich, noble, and have enough power to have rivaled both the Malfoys and the Blacks. He wore a small black-stoned ring on his right hand, which seemed to be the only thing that shone with somewhat value in the whole hovel, but otherwise his uncle looked like a gross, drunk hermit. What had happened?

 _"I thought you was that Muggle,"_ Morfin added, taking a swig from a half-full bottle of beer on the table. _"You look mighty like that Muggle."_

" _What Muggle?"_ Tom asked, sharply. Although, it was not hard to figure which muggle Morfin thought he looked like.

" _That Muggle what my sister took a fancy to, that Muggle what lives in the big house over the way,"_ Morfin snarled, spitting unexpectedly on the floor. _"You look right like him. Riddle. But he's older now in 'e? He's older'n you, now I think on it…"_

Morfin swayed drunkenly, clutching the table for some support. _"He come back, see,"_ he added, stupidly.

" _Riddle came back?"_ Tom asked, moving a little closer. However, he was just looking for more clarification and a segue onto more answers. Although, after Cecilia and Mrs. Alwena, he was very certain that man was up there.

 _"Ar, he left her, and serves her right, marring filth_ _!"_ Morfin spat, angrily. _"Robbed us, mind, before she ran off! Where's the locket, eh, where's Slytherin's locket?"_

Tom didn't answer him, he was trying to process Morfin’s drunken disconnected words. It was like trying to solve a riddle. Morfin's rage had finally reached its peak and he brandished his knife and shouted, _"Dishonored us, she did, that little slut! And who're you, coming here and asking questions about all that? It's over, innit. . . . It's over. . ."_

Tom's hand clutched his wand in anger. Although, he had never known his mother and he had always thought wrong of her all these years, she was never the one he should’ve been blaming. She was not some filthy slut who gave up life. It was his stupid, bastard, muggle father who drove her to death. All of this was his fault.

"STUPIFY!"

The red spark of light hit Morfin flat in the stomach and he fell to the ground, stunned. Tom hastily ran to his side, but not to help his poor uncle. He swiped the black stone ring, Morfin's wand, which for some reason he had not used, and the knife, before heading back out of the door. Might as well pick pocket whatever he’s got. He’d need as much ammunition as possible for what he was about to do. Tom was hyped on adrenaline as he ran fast through the empty streets and up the hill to the Riddle manor. It was finally time to face that man.

He was going to end this.


	40. Getting Away With Murder

Frankie did not recognize the boy that sat in the chained chair at first. She’d thought they had brought in a different one by mistake. His long, dark hair hung greasy and ratted over his pale face. His skin was a pigment that should’ve been impossible to obtain. He was paler then Tom was on a normal basis and that was saying something. Along with the ghostly white pigmentation, the boy was much skinnier then the hefty, half-giant Frankie had come to known over the past few years. He was gaunt and no longer held the warm, cheery air of a Gryffindor. It was amazing that only a few months in Azkaban could reduce someone to this. It was also positively horrifying. Hagrid eye’s peered over at her and she tried to replace her worried expression with an empty smile. He tried to flash a smile back, but it just ended up as a small painful grimace.

The councilman rose to silence the pandemonium in the crowd and everyone became quiet immediately on his command. He was a stern looking man whose name was Justus Pilliwickle and, despite his name, he gave the impression he was about to be anything but just.

"Rubeus Hagrid, you have been brought here in front of Council of Magical Law to answer to the charges made against you for the murdering of a muggle-born student, Myrtle Warren, and the petrification of fifteen other students," he started, once he was sure the chatter had died down entirely. "We will now bring forth the evidence and facts of the case, give you a chance to make a statement for yourself, and then the jury shall make it’s decision."

As the evidence was brought forth against him, Frankie found it harder and harder to follow Dumbledore's word and remain silent. There were several wizards and witches reading facts and figures, talking as though they had been right there and saw the whole thing with their very own eyes. It made her furious.

If anyone had seen anything at all…

"I have a few words I would like the say."

Dumbledore had suddenly risen to his feet, while Frankie was busy trying to block out the lies, and the crowd's attention immediately focused onto the spot where they were seated. Pilliwickle didn't look to happy to see that he had risen to his feet.

"You have the floor."

"Thank you, councilman. Now, I have only known Rubeus Hagrid for a few years know, but I believe he is not capable of murder," Dumbledore stated, proudly. "Although, Rubeus isn't the best behaved student we have at our fine institution. I would trust Hag— I mean—Rubeus, with my very own life."

Frankie smiled up at him. She felt the same way. Hagrid was not capable of the wickedness that had occurred against the muggle-born, why would he have considering they faced the same sort of discrimination as he did?

"I'm afraid you're just making personal statements, Albus," Pilliwickle added, coldly. "As touching as it is, if you can't provide us with evidence—"

"Oh, you want evidence do you? Well, it’s just so happens that I’ve brought along the only person who could provide you with such a thing,” He gestured Frankie to stand up, so she did as she was told. The whole crowd's eyes were suddenly fixed on her and her alone. "She is the only sole witness of the events that took place on June 13th. The closest source of information to the truth."

The eyes seemed to sting her much more as Dumbledore sat back down and she was left standing alone. She wanted to say so much, but the words were unable to escape her lips. The fear of saying the wrong thing and ruining Hagrid's whole future was overwhelming her.

Meanwhile, in another part of the country, Tom was currently approaching the Riddle manor with extreme caution. He snuck around to a backyard filled with white flowers that shone, glistening in the bright moonlight. Tom could barely see a man hanging up the key, as he ducked behind the house. His father wouldn’t be out this late, it was probably the gardener or something. The man trudged away towards a small house on the edge of the property, not knowing what was lurking in the shadows. Even though Tom could’ve easily used magic to open the door, he grabbed the key off the hook and started jiggling it in the lock. He had his uncle’s wand now, but it was better to limit as much of the underage magic as possible. He was probably already going to get a stern warning from the ministry for using his wand earlier. The door creaked open and he slipped into a dimly lit kitchen.

Where to start looking? He wandered the halls, looking for a sign of life, but it seemed like no one was here. He’d have liked to run into that cow, Cecilia, first. His stepmom deserved to know who he was and what his father had done. Tom moved upstairs to find a bright light shining in a room at the end of the hall. He crept through the long dark hallway and was soon close enough to hear the crackling fire and a variety of voices coming from inside the room. Tom tiptoed as close as he possible could and hid himself along the wall.

"How long will Cecilia be away for?"

"Only for a few days. Her mother has grown very ill, the poor thing."

"How upsetting. I should've gone with her."

The last voice and the first voice sounded _exactly_ like Tom's voice. Tom did not even need to peer around the corner into the room for a second to know it was his father’s.

"I'll miss her terribly." Tom Riddle Sr. sighed. Tom wanted to gag at the saccharine sweetness in his father’s voice talking about that wretched blonde demon like she was an angel.

"Not as much as she’s going to miss you." Tom laughed, mockingly from the hallway. He wanted to keep himself concealed a little longer, but he couldn’t help himself. That sweetness had been more than he could take. Tom Sr. quickly rose from his chair and glared into darkness of the hallway.

"Who’s th—?”

Tom casually walked into the drawing room, as if breaking and entering was something he did all the time, with a sly sort of grin. Even if Tom Sr. had finished his sentence, you could have gotten the answer just by looking at the younger Riddle. His father really was just like an older version of Tom. He had the same neat dark hair and Tom’s facial features. Tom held his uncle’s wand loosely to his side, while he stared blankly at the Riddles. There were three of them. Two older people besides his father, most likely Tom’s grandparents, who were sitting nonchalantly in armchairs, staring at them both with confusion. He thought very briefly for a moment that he might have a change of heart upon seeing all of them there together. It didn’t have to be this way. Unfortunately, it only made him grow angrier.

"Hello, _father_."

"I don't have a—" Tom Sr. started, but then was hit with a sudden realization. There was the possibility of him having a son. A long time ago, around sixteen years or so, he was under the spell of a young girl. Quite literally. He had made some terrible mistakes with her, he had no idea a child was even one of them. "Merope…"

For a moment, you would think he had cared about her by the way he said her name, but it was only for a brief passing moment. Tom knew that the man that stood before him had never really loved his mother.

"Your—what—?" Tom’s grandfather, Thomas Riddle, shouted, rising up from his chair as well. "Don't tell me you and that _thing_ had a son!"

"Well…"

"You didn't even tell your own parents!" Tom yelled, outraged. He thought he would’ve at least told them the reason he ran. A clearly misguided thought. "Are you really that ashamed by me?"

"I'm not ash—"

" _Liar!"_ Tom hissed, in Parseltongue. The two male Riddles jumped in shock at Tom's angry hiss. However, Tom’s grandmother, Mary Riddle, seemed to be the only one not affected by any of Tom's statements.

"I knew it!" Mary Riddle shouted, suddenly. They all turned their attention, eager to hear what the old woman had come up with, "I knew you looked like my Tom."

"It's lovely to see you again, grandmother." Tom smiled, politely. The other two stared at her oddly.

"Such a kind young man. What are you doing here?" she asked. It was rather obvious that the old woman was growing a dimmer and more senile with age. However, she was currently the only person in the room Tom didn’t want to have to kill.

"I'm here to take revenge on behalf of my dear mother.” Tom stated, as it was obvious he had come there to most likely kill them.

"Where's Merope? I want to talk to her!” Tom Sr. shouted, finally showing some sort of spine. Tom grimaced, gripping the wand he was hiding behind his back tighter and tighter.

"Dead. She died giving birth to me,” Tom replied. They sat there in silence for a moment, probably out of guilt rather than respect for the deceased. They had all probably done something to drive that poor woman towards death. “Of course she could have survived, but I'm afraid she no longer had the will to live. I wonder whose fault that was…"

They remained silent.

"I'm afraid I haven't actually properly introduced myself, yet. My name is also Tom Riddle." Tom stated, breaking their guilty silence.

"She gave you my name?" Tom Sr. inquired, sounding astonished. He again had shown the faintest glimpse of caring, but Tom knew better than to fall for that. If he had really cared, he wouldn't have abandoned her. He wouldn’t have abandoned _them_ _._

"Unfortunately, yes. I'm sure you aren't too pleased to have someone like my mother name anything after you."

“You know, your mother was the only one who had ever called me by my name. Sometimes I think she was the only one who liked it.”

"I have to admit I've never been entirely fond of it, myself. It's too common.” Tom scoffed back, at what was probably supposed to be his father trying to connect to him. Tricks like that weren’t going to work, not on him.

"Look, what do you want?" Tom Sr. inquired, crossing his arms, huffily. He must have just wanted Tom to leave, so he could continue to live a peaceful life with his monster wife and dim parents. This didn't please Tom. Now, he was quite certain of what needed to be done and wasn’t going to leave here without taking that perfect life with him. His father deserved to die.

"Nothing much, I suppose." Tom added, simply. "I just wanted to actually have a simple father-son chat before…”

"Before, what?"

"I kill you…" Tom revealed the wand from behind his back. The only one that found it somewhat threatening was his father. He was smart enough to know a magical object when he saw one. Thomas Riddle actually let out a small little chuckle and sat back down, while Mary Riddle gave a blank-happy expression into space.

"Of course, you’re one of _them_!" Tom Sr. sneered, angrily. “You just had to be another freak. She had to infect our son.”

"You didn't expect my mother to leave me with _absolutely_ nothing," Tom added, stepping towards him. Tom Sr. surprisingly stayed put, his expression cold and hardened. "I'm surprised you even knew what she was."

"I found out when we were little. I used to think it was like magic. It was something splendorous and wonderful…” he admitted, cracking what looked like a small smile. He was looking back on memories Tom wasn’t allowed to see, memories he’d locked away. They were good memories of a little girl he once knew, who he had found utterly enchanting and tried not to treat him like he was some precious porcelain prince, but as a friend. However, he was merely replaying these memories he’d rather forget, to infuriate his son further because he knew Tom would never be able to see them, or her. He would never know that girl.

“It is magic! Only you ignorant muggles think of us as cursed freaks," Tom shouted back. “I’m glad my mother at least left me with magic, because it is everything to me! It’s the only thing that I have.”

Tom Sr. stood there in silence at Tom’s outburst. Tom thought he was going to try to apologize, try to beg for his life and forgiveness, but he merely smiled a wickedly evil and familiar grin. The only smile Tom was known to be able to produce without having to thinking, the one he was so famous for.

“She hated magic too, you know. She only used it when she was about to lose me to Cecilia. Merope would’ve been ashamed to see my face, our son, using magic like it’s something normal,” Tom Sr. smirked, with a cruel laugh. It’s exactly what Tom would’ve done and, suddenly, he wasn’t looking at a spineless man anymore. He was looking in a mirror. This man really was Tom Riddle. “You dishonor the both of us. Now, _get out_.”

Tom was stunned silent at his father’s words and he inadvertently lowered the wand. That old man had actually gotten the better of him. The childish part of him was hoping that at least one of his relatives would accept him, be it the Riddles or the Gaunts. That one of them wouldn’t be just as horrid and wicked as he was turning out to be and would accept him. He’d finally have somewhat of a family. His father could toss a ball with him and they could talk about girls or something else trivial, while his grandfather and uncle taught him things about magic. However, it was time Tom faced reality and do what he originally came here to do. It was time end this, so Tom could go back to the only person he considered to be his family now.

"She only hated it because you hated it. All she ever wanted was to be with you and you ran out on us!” Tom reasoned, to himself more then anyone. He raised the wand once more. Truthfully, it was his first real murder. Killing someone with a giant snake was different then using an Unforgivable Curse. Could he really do it? “I'll make all of you experience the pain you put my mother through."

_No time to think just do it!_

_AVADA KEDAVERA_!

And, in one bright flash of green light, the only Riddle left standing in the room was him…

"Exactly, who are you?"

Justus Pilliwickle was looking at Frankie with suspicion, while the rest of the jurors murmured about her appearance as well. She nervously looked around the room, not realizing the councilman had just asked her for her name. What was it again? Her head was so jumbled with words she could barely think of her own name.

"Frankie Dickson, sir." Frankie answered, finally, trying not to stare down at the floor beneath her. The whispers grew louder. She apparently had many titles. _The girl from the paper. Daughter of those Aurors. The actual guilty one._

"Is it true you saw the events that took place on June 13th?" Pilliwickle asked, talking to her slowly as if she were five.

"Yes, sir."

"Can you describe to the court what happened?"

Frankie began to describe what had happened, to the best of her ability. She had almost every witch and wizard on the edges of their seats wanting to know more. However, as an enticing of a story it was, it did not please Pilliwickle and the jurors.

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard," Pilliwickle remarked, restraining a cruel laugh to keep at least a little professionalism. "What were you thinking, Albus? Bringing a child here to testify."

"Ridiculous or not. It does not make it any less the truth." Dumbledore replied, simply.

"She's claiming there’s a Basilisk on the school grounds."

"It was rumored Salazar Slytherin had a Basilisk for a pet. Perhaps, he left it behind."

"That was hundreds of years ago—"

"Basilisks can live up to hundreds of years." Frankie interjected. Pilliwickle glared at her sudden comment, while Dumbledore smiled.

“Perhaps she should be off in Azkaban as well," Pilliwickle reasoned, harshly. “She and that giant are friends and for all we know accomplices. Clearly, she has vast knowledge of magical creatures."

"And clearly you don't…" she replied, the anger growing in her voice. How dare he turn this around. How dare he try to blame her. It was inconceivable. She had almost taken the fall for this once already, but as Tom tried to convince her many times this wasn’t her fault.

"What did you say—?"

“I said you don’t know anything, _sir_! If Aragog had really killed her she would have had bite marks from where he injected his venom. They've already checked Hagrid’s wand and he didn’t use a curse. So, tell me how this is even being pulled out further. How else could he have killed her? He's innocent and you know it!”

The room went silent.

"Dually noted…" was all Pilliwickle had to say about the angry outburst, moments later. Not “You’re out of order!”, or “Silence!” even, just “Dually noted.” There was only a moment of conferring with the jurors, before he was ready to deliver the official decision,

“We have heard all of the evidence and were unable to come to a verdict at this time. Rubeus Hagrid will be escorted back to Azkaban, until the facts are reviewed and evidence is further clarified…”

" _No!"_ she wanted to scream out, but she had done enough damage already. Frankie took one last look at Hagrid before they hauled him away again. She and Dumbledore silently made their way through the crowd and shuffled towards the exit.

"I'm sorry, sir. I didn't listen to you."

"What are you talking about? You did perfectly," Dumbledore answered, with a smile. "Come along, now. It's time for you to go home, in a matter of speaking…"

It was a few days later and Tom’s trunk was finally packed and ready to go back to the orphanage. Although, he still didn’t know how he was supposed to explain an owl fluttering around him on the train. It wasn’t the Hogwarts Express. He was currently trying to catch Twilit flying around the room, so he could then go to catch the train. The owl's cheery attitude was starting to really irritate him.

"Come here, you dumb bird!" Tom shouted, trying to grab the owl’s fat, feathery neck.

"Never thought you could make a face like that."

Marjorie was standing in the doorway with a sort of smug expression. She had just caught Tom in a moment when he was not acting like a charming prince she had come to know over the past month, but his true self.

"What are you doing here?" Tom asked, after having literally jumped up to finally catch the hyper-active owl.

"I just wanted to talk to you before you left." she replied, nervously rocking back-and-forth on her feet.

"Talk to me about what?" he inquired, sounding confused. He was heading towards the window in hopes Twilit would fly out, but the owl flied out of Tom’s hands and onto his shoulder as they approached the open window. Tom sighed and gave up, turning his attention back to Marjorie.

"Um, are you coming back next summer?"

"I'm afraid not." Tom answered. He stared down at the black stone ring around his finger, then over to the Riddle manor out the window. He couldn’t ever come back, for obvious reasons. Even if he wanted too.

"That's too bad," Marjorie sighed. "I was hoping I'd get to see you again."

"Why?"

"Oh, I—just—um—"

"Spit it out already, girl!”

"It's just—I— _really_ like you Tom."

"Oh, Marjorie—"

Marjorie put up a finger to shut him up. She obviously already had recognized his tone and knew what his answer was going to be. It would be better than to actually hear him say it.

"I see your friend wrote you back." Marjorie smiled, gazing at Twilit perched on his shoulder.

"Yes. She wrote me a while ago actually." Tom replied, in hope to keep this sudden change in conversation going. However, the subject change to Frankie wasn’t a great idea either.

"She's the one, isn’t she? The reason you can’t ever return my feelings."

"It's none of your business, Marjorie."

"From what I can tell, you’ve known her forever and loved her almost as long. She’s never going to notice how you feel!” Marjorie reasoned, desperately.

"I don't really care if she notices how I feel or not."

"Then, why bother?"

"It's my job," Tom answered, simply. "I need her and she needs me."

"Fine, I get it." Marjorie sighed, finally giving up on arguing. It was a hopeless effort to try to convince someone out of love. However, it didn’t hurt to try. She walked up closer to him and kissed him on the cheek before heading towards the door.

"Goodbye, Tom..."

His cheek was still burning as he boarded the train back to London and it wasn’t because he was wearing a wool coat with an owl stuffed in it in the beginning of August. Now, he understood how Frankie felt when he’d kissed her cheek, or any other of those orphanage girls. A kiss was an intoxicating thing, whether you had greater feelings for the person or not.

It was not like he had absolutely no feelings for Marjorie. She was a person to talk to in that drab little town and her personality wasn’t bland. Not to mention, her mother was one of his mother’s only friends. She was even the reason her parents were dead. He eventually had gotten Marjorie to spill on how her parents died. They were convinced his uncle and grandfather knew Merope’s whereabouts, so they went to confront them. However, they never stood a chance against those disgusting, horrid men. Marvolo died in Azkaban and Morfin came back eventually, until… All of it made him feel connected to her, like he was obligated to protect her too. It was a different feeling then Frankie, but it wasn’t any feeling at all. He obviously trusted her enough to talk to her about Frankie. He hadn't really talked to a real person about her, just one rather annoying painting. Tom was surprised how much he had actually told her, but it didn't matter now. He could never return to Little Hangleton, so would most likely never see Marjorie again.

Tom arrived at King’s Cross Station sometime later. It was hard to believe it had only been a few months since he had been there. It felt like ages since he walked amongst the bustling crowded station. Things felt a little different. He had been bathing in his own coldness for far too long and things had gotten a little out of hand. But, now he stood in the same crowd of people, with the same passing trains, and even the same yelling guard. The only thing that seemed to be missing was the over-joyed girl pushing her way through to get to the fabled platform.

For once Tom was in a rush to be in Wool’s Orphanage. He pushed through the front door of the orphanage, about a half an hour later, hastily carrying his trunk inside. Mr. Cole and the few other ladies who were employed there stared at him, with a mixture of anger and fear, as he walked through the door. They had all been standing by the stairs gossiping as usual, while the kids were probably all out in the backyard.

"Welcome back." Mrs. Cole stated, not very polite but not rather cold either.

"Is she back yet?" Tom asked, looking around the room. The other ladies whispered as Mrs. Cole's somewhat polite attitude turned normal again.

"Is who back?" Mrs. Cole inquired back, obviously playing-dumb.

"You know who I mean." Tom growled, angrily.

"I can't say that I do." she answered, bitterly. Tom gave her a harsh glare, slammed his trunk down on her feet, and ran past her. The backyard was the first place he would look for her. Sure enough, she was there. Her long hazel hair was blowing in the slight summer breeze and her matching eyes were squinted down at the pages of a book. She sat there reading in their normal spot at the white table, while the younger kids ran past her playing with a dirty red ball. She noticed his arrival seconds later and smiled up from her book.

_"Finally!”_

She jumped up from her chair and pulled him into a hug. It was amazing how long a few months could last. It felt like years had passed. Suddenly, all the coldness he’d been harboring all these months, all the obsession and revenge, just seemed to thaw away. It was a bit sad how fast he deteriorated without her. He didn’t realize how much he depended on her to keep him from himself. Tom was about to answer her, when he noticed the children were staring up at them. He broke apart from her, hoping it would stop them from asking questions.

"Hey, you promised you’d come and tell us about magic after you finished reading." a little girl remarked, tugging Frankie's arm. The group of girls pulled her away few feet and they sat in a small circle in the cool green grass. Tom stood alone, or at least he thought he was alone. It took him a few seconds to realize that a small boy had stayed beside him.

"What do you want?" Tom asked, trying not to sound too rude, only coming off as so. The boy looked up at him, surprisingly not frightened. He must’ve been somewhat of a new arrival.

"You like her, right?" the boy inquired, pointing over at Frankie in the group of girls. It was amazing that even a six year old could figure out he had feelings for Frankie in about eight seconds. Why couldn't she in about eight years?

"Something like that.”

"Why don't you just tell her?" the boy asked, looking genuinely confused.

"It's not that easy, kid." Tom sighed.

"Sure it is, watch," the boy answered. He turned to the group of girls, cupped his hands together, and yelled. "Hey Cindy! I like you!"

A small blonde girl with pigtails turned to look at who had just confessed to her. She smiled and began getting up, while the other girls giggled and gossiped. They had turned the attention of the whole group. Frankie was smiling brightly at him. If only Tom could yell too. If only it were that stupidly simple.

"See? Easy right?" the boy added. It was that easy, right? It shouldn't be so difficult, but for some reason it just was. However, if he had the courage and the guts to kill his entire family, this had to be a piece of cake in comparison. The little boy's words had given him some sort of confidence. Enough was enough. He had made somewhat of a decision. Sometime this year, he didn’t know when or where, but this year he was finally going to tell her everything.


	41. You're Just a Little Too Late

" _If you give me your heart, I'll give you mine…"_

"Huh?" Tom stammered, in confusion. He was right to be confused. For some reason, he was sitting in a completely blank space with only one other person. A girl with hazel hair and pure glistening white wings, you know who. However, what he was so confused about was what she was saying, not where they were. What exactly did she mean by that?

However, what she meant came quite apparent, when she grabbed her hand into her chest and slowly pulled out her heart. Thankfully, it wasn't a pumping bloody valve of horror, like Tom expected it to logically be. It was a shiny, opalescent, heart-shaped crystal. She gestured for him to do the same and, strangely enough, he obeyed her illogical sense. Unlike hers, his was noir black, disfigured and scratched. It was an ugly pitiful looking thing. It looked almost exactly like the ring he had stolen from his uncle. What did he do to make it like that? Oh well, it wasn’t what really mattered right now. To his understanding, she was purposing a trade, which he felt quite eager to accept. He wanted her heart. She took the small dark crystal from his hand and left her pure glistening white one in his palms. She placed his heart to her chest and in a split second it was being absorbed inside of her. Tom stared memorized at her heart, but would not even think of doing the same. It was too beautiful. He could see his reflection on the glistening surface. How long had he had red eyes for? Suddenly, she let out a loud phlegmy hack. She started coughing up blood. Her white angel like wings started shedding black feathers and her hazel eyes went blood red that seemed to match his. He could see she was in so much pain, yet he simply sat there clenching her heart. It was warm and fluttering like a bird. Even though it cost the girl so much pain he didn't want to give it back. He wouldn't give it up, not to her, not to anyone.

She lay there dead because he just wouldn't give her up.

Tom woke up in Slytherin dorms, just like any other morning. He had been having these kind of horrid dreams like this all the time now, practically ever since he’d made the decision to tell her. They were like a strange omen trying to convince him it was not the right idea, but naturally he just decided to ignore them. It was not like the dreams had anything to do with reality. He didn't really have red eyes and she didn't really have wings, amongst the several other traits that made the dream illogical. They were just silly things his mind made up because it wasn't being put to use.

_Shit! I'm late…_

Tom slightly scrambled to get ready. Today was Sunday and hopefully he would be able to get out one simple sentence without getting interrupted. Oh yes, he had had his chance to tell her how he actually felt about her many times over the past few months, but every time he tried he always seemed to be interrupted by something. The Gryffindors especially loved getting in his way. Whether it was the girls pulling her away for a study session, or hunting for Flobber Worms in the gamekeeper’s garden with the boys, they never seemed to give him a moment. It happened so often, he was starting to think they were all doing it on purpose.

"Where you headed off to in such a hurry, Tom?" Lestrange asked, watching as Tom suspiciously jetted for the door. Tom didn’t run for anything. Everyone knew that.

"Nowhere." Tom replied, not even stopping to acknowledge he had actually been talking to Lestrange. He exited the dungeons and headed for the Great Hall immediately. Tom only stopped when he saw the girl with long hazel hair waiting along the wall by the entrance to the Great Hall. She noticed his arrival and her face immediately lit up.

"You're late!" Frankie fake-pouted, placing her hands on her hips in an overdramatic fashion.

"You’re one to talk.” he remarked, in retaliation. Her normal smile returned and, they both departed at once. They walked down to the normal spot like they had been doing for the past six years. It was rather sunny for December. In fact, it was about as sunny as a summer day, which anywhere else would have been a concerning sight. However, this was Hogwarts.

"It's Sunday." Frankie stated, looking up at the few clouds in the December sky.

"Really? You don’t say.” Tom added, sarcastically.

"We’re in our sixth year now…"

"So?" He was actually bringing his focus away from his book to listen to her. She must’ve been getting to a point.

"I don't know. It just feels like time flew by so fast." Frankie sighed, collapsing onto the grass. A gust of wind sweeping her hair past her face. The December clouds were coming in to destroy the mysterious nice weather and they would be there soon.

"It really has." Tom agreed. It sometimes felt like only yesterday she had been escorted in to the room by Mrs. Cole and they met once again. It was just yesterday that she made Billy Stubb repeatedly punch himself in the face, yet it had felt like he had found someone actually worth staying beside him ages ago. They had been on such a long adventure so far and it was still nowhere near over yet. There was still a whole life ahead of them.

"We'll be leaving soon."

"I suppose…but we'll never really leave. Not really. Hogwarts will always be our real home."

She smiled. Obviously, she felt the same. Although, they both lived in an orphanage, this was the place their hearts were. Wool’s Orphanage had become just like a horrible summer camp they were forced to go back to every summer. It had it’s few glimmering moments, meeting each other being one of them, but it wasn’t home. Tom had been born and raised there and he still found more solace at Hogwarts.

"What do you want to do when you get out?" Frankie asked, suddenly.

"I don't really know yet," Tom answered, truthfully. Although, he had a desire to be a powerful, immortal wizard, Tom was not entirely sure that was an answer he wanted to give anyone who asked. Even if it was her. “Slughorn says I should go into the ministry, but I'm not so sure."

"You would be perfect for the ministry. You have the perfect grades, you’re a Prefect, and soon you’ll be the Head Boy…It's only a matter of time, really." she stammered, in such an excitement, like Tom had just found a cure for a disease.

"You'll be my Head Girl, won't you?" he inquired, trying to use some of his alluring charm on her. Unfortunately, it never did work.

"Don’t be silly. Me? The Head Girl,” Frankie laughed, in a tone that it was more likely her becoming headmaster then Head Girl. “I'm not going to be the Head Girl. I wasn't even made a Prefect."

"Well, you don't have to be Prefect. You have just as much of a chance as any other girl in our year," Tom added, for a-matter-of-fact. "So, what are _you_ going to do with your life once we’re forced to leave this place?"

"Nothing. I don't want to do anything!" Frankie yelled, with a bit of frustration. The answer shocked Tom and it wasn't just because of her tone. Surely, she had something in mind for the future. He had been slowly planning his future since he got there. He only assumed she was doing the same.

"Don't you want to be an Auror?" he asked, hoping it would turn on some sort of switch in her.

"Not really. It was something my parents did, but I just don't think I would be right for it," she admitted, looking down at the grass. Suddenly, she leaned in close looking him straight in the eye. "Do you know what I want to do?"

"Nothing."

"I changed my mind there is _something_ I do want to do."

"What do you want to do, now?" Tom asked, with genuine curiosity.

"I want to live by the sea! Wouldn't that just be amazing?" she exclaimed, suddenly jumping to her feet and looking out at the glittering lake.

"So, all you want to do is live by the ocean? Nothing else?"

"I think it would be nice. It would make me feel free, after being trapped and hidden away for so long.”

"Maybe I'll come with you." Tom remarked, charmingly. It was just a line, but there was a bit of truth to it. Although, he strove for a more grand life, it might’ve been nice. The life she purposed. A life of freedom would be just as good of a life.

"Yes. We could live in an old house near a beach so we could go on walks every Sunday—"She stopped herself. Her face was flushed with a feverish expression. In this fantasy she had just purposed they were still living together, married even. Assuming that was not what Tom wanted, she had to save herself from further embarrassment, "But I'm sure that's not your dream. You'll be the Minister of Magic and I'll be the seaside hag who scares even the seagulls…"

"What if my dream is to stay with you?" he asked, wanting her to say more. He was so close to uncovering her feelings.

"That couldn't possibly be your dream…"

"And if it is?" Tom asked. How will she answer that? She couldn't possibly answer without revealing some sort of feelings.

"It's a pretty silly dream," Frankie stated, it turning about a little bit colder than it should have. However, unlike Tom’s coldness, she made up for it. "We'll always be together. So, you can pick a different dream…"

Her answer, the atmosphere, the timing. It just seemed right like yet another perfect moment the universe had graciously given him. The time to tell her how he felt was now. Quickly, before the inevitable disruption came.

"Listen, I have something to tell you…"

"What is it?"

"I—l—"

_"_ _Found you, Tom—!"_

Lestrange had popped up from out of nowhere and was looking down at the two of them, obviously taking a second to notice the girl he was with was Frankie. Tom did his best to restrain his frustration of once again being disrupted and mental panic for having being caught. _How long has he been here?_

"Lestrange, what are you doing here?" Tom asked, struggling to hold back the rage in his voice.

"Just wanted to know where you ran off too in such a hurry…" Lestrange answered, trying not to look over at Frankie. "Sorry. I didn’t know you were with someone."

"It's okay. I was just leaving," Tom added, turning away from Frankie and starting to walk towards the road. He didn’t even turn to say goodbye, knowing that if he did he’d be even more in trouble. Lestrange gave one final glare at Frankie before he went to follow beside his leader.

"Why were you talking to _her_?" Lestrange asked, as they walked up to the castle.

"Uh—I—" He had surprisingly never come up with a lie to in case he ever got caught with Frankie by someone with a bit of influence. After six years of not being caught, it was pretty understandable, though.

"Oh, I get it." Lestrange remarked, suddenly, nudging Tom in the shoulder. He couldn't possibly get it. If he really got it, he'd probably be too disgusted to even talk to Tom.

"Exactly, what did you get?"

"You're only talking to her to mess with Malfoy," Lestrange replied, confidently. He was pretty dim and the answer was so wrong, but was better than telling him the truth. “His fancy of that girl has gone way too far and you’re handling it.”

"Of course, why else would I associate with a girl like her?" Tom remarked, reassuringly.

"I don't know what Malfoy sees in her. She's a Gryffindor!" Lestrange spat, angrily.

"What would you think about her, I mean, if she wasn't a Gryffindor?" Tom asked, curiously. Surely, he couldn't just hate her cause she was a Gryffindor. It seemed like an idiotic reason not to like someone. Yes, he had as much house pride as anyone and he hated the Gryffindors, but it wasn’t because they were specifically Gryffindors. He just hated them as people, like almost everyone else he knew.

"Well—I suppose—"Lestrange stopped himself from possibly admitting she wasn't so bad. If he said something nice about her to his leader, he would be dead. He must return to his blind hatred of the girl, to keep up his own image as well. "What kind of question is that? She's such a goody-two-shoes! She always showing off how good she is at magic and how smart she is.”

"You’re right."

There was a sudden crack of a twig that could barely be heard, but none the less had been heard. By the time Tom had turned around to look at the possible arrival of another person, whoever they were, they were gone. He almost thought he saw a flash of hazel hair go running behind the nearest corner, but he really couldn’t be certain.

Tom’s senses were keen, as always. Or maybe she just hadn’t been sneaky enough. Frankie continued to run on, as fast as her legs could take her. She had heard everything. It was not necessarily called following if you were going up to the castle too. She might have been a little to close behind them, but she wanted to know what Tom talked about when he was with his friends. Clearly, it had been something she would have rather not have known.

Finally she collapsed on the cool grass out of pure exhaustion. She must have run halfway around the school grounds. The sky was beginning to grow even more cold and cloudy, it was most likely going to start raining any minute, but she didn't want to go back. There had been a moment when she was sitting with Tom she thought he was going to say…

But it couldn't be true, not after what he’d just said.

_"Who are you?”_

She didn't even get up when she heard someone coming, footsteps in the grass. Hopefully, whoever they were, they would just leave her be. But it was hard to ignore her when she appeared to be dead.

"Frankie? You okay?" the person asked. She didn’t need to get up to recognize the voice was Quin.

"I have never been 'okay' in my entire life!" she yelled at him, being just a bit to overdramatic. She couldn’t help it. Her mind was buzzing with questions. Frankie had always thought she knew Tom better than anyone, but suddenly it felt like she didn’t know who he was anymore. "Just leave me alone."

"No…I'm not going away until you tell me what's wrong" he stated, standing his ground. He wasn't going anywhere, too much of her dismay. Such a stubborn idiot.

"Fine! It's just Tom. Now, will you go away?" Frankie screamed, frantically waving her free arm in high hopes it would hit him.

"What did he do?" he asked, grabbing her arm and stopping it in mid-swing.

"Nothing…"

“Nothing? Look at this! This isn’t nothing,” Quin exclaimed, shaking her arm by where he had grabbed it on her wrist. "If you don't tell me, I might pick a fight with that arse for making you cry."

"I'm not crying!" she stated, sitting up to face him.

"Then, what's this?" he remarked, as he wiped a fresh tear off her cheek. "Please tell me."

"If you promise you won't get into a fight with him." Frankie added. She wiped her nose on the sleeve of her sweater and removed small pieces of grass attached to her, red, splotchy, tear-stained face. It was such an ugly state, but Quin didn’t run away. He just smiled warmly and answered,

"I promise."

"I don’t think I know who Tom is anymore. I heard him and Lestrange talking and it was like he was a completely different person. They spoke down on me,” Frankie explained, with a sorrowed sigh. "I always thought it didn't matter what house you were in, but now I'm not so sure."

"I highly doubt that's true," Quin replied, with a bit of a laugh at her ‘misfortune’. Was that honestly what she was so upset about? "He was just talking that way because he’s supposed to be the leader of the Slytherins. He’s got a stupid image to keep up. Do you honestly believe that he hates you?"

"But—"

"Look, even I know that he could never feel that way about you. You're all he actually cares about," he reasoned. "So, you should trust him. Not saying I do, but—"

"Why are defending him? You guys absolutely hate each other."

"I'm defending him because it just wouldn't be fair…"

"What wouldn't be fair?"

"It’s something that kind of fuels some of the fire between me and him, the heart of our hatred. Kind of another one of our petty competitions that he’s winning. However, even so, I’m still not going to advantage of this situation. It wouldn’t be fair. I'm going to win, but I’m not going to lie or use any dirty tricks to do so—" Quin answered, going into his own little ramble. Luckily, he stopped himself before he said too much. He extended his arm, to help her up off the ground, "Come on, let’s go. I think supper is about to start soon..."

"Okay." she answered, with a small smile. He helped her back onto her feet and they walked back to the castle together, talking much lighter and distracting conversation topics. They eventually reached the entrance and, to much of Frankie’s surprise, Tom stood there waiting. She waved goodbye to Quin as he continued to walk on without her. He had really helped her feel better. If he hadn't come along, she probably would’ve actually thought Tom secretly hated her. However, things still weren’t entirely fixed between them. What had been sadness mere minutes ago was quickly turning into anger and bitterness as she saw him standing there.

"Where have you been?" Tom asked her, yet he was watching Quin head towards the Great Hall alone. What had she been doing with _him_? Her face was red and a little splotchy. Had she been crying?

"I've been down at Ogg's cabin with Quin, since you left with Lestrange." Frankie lied.

"Really?"

"Yes. Now, I'm off to supper. I'll see you in class tomorrow." she stated, quickly starting to walk towards the Great Hall as well.

"Um—wait. Slughorn wanted me to give you your invitation to his party." he added, holding out a silver envelope with her name scrawled across it.

"Thank you.” Frankie replied, accepting it and stuffing it into her pocket. She gave him no wave or soft smile as she dashed off into the Great Hall to join Gryffindor table. Something was amiss. Tom could sense she was not telling him the truth about where she had been and something else had happened to her that she didn’t want to talk about. Hopefully, she didn’t hear him. It had to be anything but that. The flash of hazel he thought he’d seen was just his mind playing tricks on him.

That next week she was acting even more strange. Even more distant and out-of-reach. Talking to Quin more in Potions, giving him half-ass excuses when he tried walking with her to classes or talking with her after supper. He didn’t realize, till Friday, when he finally asked her what was with her did she so bitterly answer, “I’m just trying not to ruin your image.” Which caused Tom to apologize several times over, realizing she had actually heard him talking with Lestrange. Frankie said she forgave him, but Tom still thought she was acting odd. He would have to show her that everything he had said wasn't at all true and there was only one way to show her he meant it. Confessing. He could do it at Slughorn’s party on Sunday. The night of the party he would try yet again to steal a kiss and tell her how he felt about her. Special occasion, romantic setting, and no Gryffindors. It was the perfect plan.

Time seemed to go by a lot slower when he actually had something planned, however, soon it was the night of Slughorn’s party. Thankfully, despite her anger towards him, Frankie agreed they could go down together like always. He stood in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady waiting for Frankie to come out like usual, just looking a lot more dapper than usual. Although, he looked handsome on a normal basis, he had somehow managed to look even more princely and dashing. It was probably that mysterious hair oil he stole from Malfoy.

"So, you finally putting the moves on her eh, kid?" the Fat Lady asked, nosily, as the two were waiting for her to come out.

"Please don't call me a kid," Tom replied, rubbing his forehead. She always gave him such a headache. "And what do you mean finally?"

“You’ve been meeting here since you were both first years. I could tell by the third visit something was up with you two,” the Fat Lady exclaimed, excitedly. Normally, she’d hate Tom being there and just yell at him to go away. However, the Fat Lady couldn’t help but help out true love, the once every seven years it happened to show up in front of her portrait. She loved giving him romance advice he didn’t want. "You haven't really been showing her how much you love her and that's why she isn't responding. You must be forceful for once!"

"Forceful?"

"Yeah. Just go up to her and kiss her. I don't want to hear any more excuses!"

"I can't believe I'm even listening to romantic advice from a painting, of all things." Tom sighed.

"Well, who else could you get it from? I take it no one else knows about your secret little crush.” she laughed, cruelly. She was right…

"I don't really need to take it from anyone. I have all of this under control." he replied, confidently.

"Really? How many years has it been now? About six, and she still has absolutely no idea." the Fat Lady retaliated, with a bit of a cocky smirk. Again, she was right…

Frankie suddenly emerged from the portrait hole, clad in a dusky aqua drape neck dress that settled at her knees, which had probably come straight from Dylan’s wardrobe, considering Frankie owned only two fancy evening dresses. Her long hair was down her back in wavy ringlets, not to tampered from her normal hair. She had come out of the portrait hole in the midst of Tom's awkward silence and the Fat Lady’s victory laugh for having bested him. Frankie looked back and forth between the two with suspicion.

"Were you two arguing again?" Frankie asked, although that fact had been quite obvious.

"Ah, yes and I’ve actually won this time," the Fat Lady giggled, clapping for herself. "Now, you two better be going. Don’t want to be tardy to the party."

"Alright, I'll be back in a little while."

“Oh please, dear. Take your time. Why if I had legs—”

“Thank you, lady. However, we’re in far too much of a rush for another one of your ‘what I wouldn’t do to have legs’ speeches.” Tom added. He quickly turned to leave, her hand being taken away with him.

"What are you doing?" Frankie asked, clueless, looking down at their intertwined fingers.

"I don't want you to trip," Tom explained, looking down at Frankie's three inch Lucite heels. "You're the clumsiest girl I know. Those shoes will make you trip."

"Thanks, Tom."

The two walked down to Slughorn's office, following the sounds of the loud gossip and jingling melodies, as they grew closer and closer. It would seem the party was already in full swing. They arrived at the room filled with laughter and pure holiday cheer. Just looking at it could make you sleepy and exhausted. The same hangings covered the walls with mounds of tinsel and holly. They could barely see that a person was shuffling their way through the crowd to meet them. Suddenly, Dylan practically was spit out of the crowd of bustling people, and fell at their feet.

"I'm so glad you’re finally here! Come on, let's go!" she yelled, immediately getting up and pulling Frankie towards the crowd.

"Go where?"

"You'll see…"

Tom could only watch as Dylan hastily dragged Frankie into the chaos and disappeared. He had forgotten that she and Aidan were also members of Slughorn’s elite and would be here. _Crap!_

Frankie didn't know where Dylan was taking her, but it just seemed like they were walking through a never-ending sea of people. Until, suddenly, she’d lost her grip. Frankie looked around the room of cladly dressed stars, in slight panic to find her friend, but to no avail. All she got were stares from random people, wondering what was wrong with her. She straightened out her dress and tried to act normal, but they kept staring. Perhaps she should’ve chosen a more festive color of dress. Perhaps she should’ve tied up her hair. Perhaps they weren’t even staring at her at all. Frankie picked some strange looking tart off a nearby waiter's tray, trying to look like a casual partygoer, yet coming off as a nervous stiff.

"I found you!"

"Huh?" She looked up at the waiter’s hazel eyes and jumped up in shock, dropping the tart onto the floor. Quin was dressed in a waiter's uniform holding the tray she had grabbed the tart from. "Quin! Bloody hell, you scared the life out of me. What are you doing here?"

"Ethan and I sneaked in." he answered. Surely enough, Ethan was chatting to Aidan on the other side of the office. Of course, if one of them was around the other two had to be somewhere nearby.

"In disguises?" Frankie giggled, looking the white dress robes up and down.

"Yeah. Do you think I'd actually where this to a party?" Quin added, looking down at the uniform as well. He looked ridiculous. The white dress robes didn't suit anyone, let alone him.

"Why would you want to come to a thing like this?"

"Well, since we’re not getting a Yule Ball, I’m not going to ever get another chance to ask you for a dance." Suddenly, he was offering out his hand. Frankie considered the offer for a moment and decided it was one she wanted to take. In a spur of the moment, she decided yes and he pulled her through the crowd. They ditched the tray of tarts onto the nearby snack table and then they swayed over by the band. Unlike when she danced with Tom, with Quin she felt it was okay to be so imperfect. Her nervousness faded as they swirled around to the jazzy tune, with goofy smiles on their faces, crashing into all the other couples dancing. She stepped on his feet and he just laughed at her. It was fun and easy. Quin had always made her life feel that way.

"Did you really break in here just to ask me for a dance?" Frankie asked, in the midst of their mindless twirling and frolic.

"Actually, that's not entirely true." Quin admitted, truthfully. "There's something else I wanted to ask you…"

Tom shifted his way out of the crowd, having just spent the past hour and a half as Slughorn’s ‘little champion’, prized student of all prized students. He had been meeting famous people who could help his future, putting up his charming façade. However, none of that mattered to him right now. That wasn’t what tonight was supposed to be about. It was about not being a coward anymore and finally telling Frankie how he felt, regardless of what it might do to effect his social standing. Unfortunately, he couldn't find anyone he knew in this crowd let alone Frankie. Tom regretted not keeping her more attached to him because no matter how hard he searched she could not be found. But, just as that hopeless thought struck, she appeared out of the crowd with a noticeably big smile on her face. He grabbed her before he could lose her again and started to head towards the corridors.

"What are you doing Tom?" she asked, but he didn't answer. Tom leaned into her, actually taking the Fat Lady’s advice for once and just kissed her. A gentle kiss on her lips and thankfully she didn't pull away, she moved closer to him. Tom always thought her smile was what he liked most about her, but her lips were putting up a good competition against themselves. He finally got those idiotic couples at Madame Puddifoot’s Tea Shop and the ones practically glued together in secluded corridors. It was an intoxicating feeling, that that made you feel like you were full of electricity. The pressure of his lips on hers were just starting to get a little harder, Tom unable to control himself after what felt like a lifetime of waiting, when she finally decided to pull away from him.

"Idiot, I’m tired of waiting for you to figure out how I really feel about you. You wanted the truth, well, this is the truth,” He took a deep breath. This was mad. But if he couldn’t go back anymore, he just had to tell her. “I’m mad about you. I’ve always been mad about you. I’m most definitely in love with you."

Frankie stayed in utter silence, staring blankly at his face. She didn’t smile. She almost looked _sad._

"What's wrong? Am I no good?" he asked, noticing her sad expression.

"It's not that, it's just…" she started, the words still not wanting to come out.

"What is it? Tell me." He didn't understand what could've been wrong. He was actually failing? She didn't pull away from his kiss right away. So, why did she look so sad?

"Quin confessed to me and I told him that I feel the same way.”

"You can't be serious!" Tom yelled, angrily. She was spoken for! Since, when had this been a thing? Even though he and Quin were the bitterest of enemies, knowing Frankie, she still would’ve still told him immediately. Of course she had been mad at him the entire week and spending all her time with Quin instead. Maybe it all made sense. But, of all the people, why did it have to be _him_? "Why didn't you tell me before I made a fool of myself?"

"You just kissed me! When would I gotten the chance?”

“You don’t love him.”

“How could you possibly know that? Maybe I don’t feel that way about you,” Frankie yelled back at him. She was furious. How dare he tell her how she felt? He didn’t have that kind of power over her. “And maybe, if you really loved me, you should've worked up the courage to tell me before it was too late."

She ran in to the pitch black, trying to hold back the forming tears in her eyes. Frankie was lying to herself and to him. She really did love Tom. After everything they’d been through and everything he’d done for her, it was impossible not to be in love with him. But she didn't necessarily just like Quin either. She didn’t just say yes because he got there first, despite Tom’s conviction that had been the only reason. He was kind to her, he never made her cry and always made sure she was having a good time. Tom did not always treat her in such a manor. How did he expect to be with her if he thought they couldn’t even be seen in public together? Frankie had honestly thought Tom’s love was not in that way, even though there were a couple moments this year especially that proved that was obviously not the case. It was all very confusing and all she wanted to do was sink into a deep sleep and forget about it. Frankie arrived at the portrait hole of the Gryffindor a couple minutes later. She didn't even have to mutter the password before it swung open. The Fat Lady could just tell by her face she was in no mood to say anything.

Tom stood alone right outside the office entrance, feeling a mixture of idiocy and fury. If only he had told her a long time ago... Then, he wouldn't be standing out there after sending the girl he loved running away crying, he wouldn’t have just ruined everything. She was right. He had waited too long. But what was he supposed to do now? What was going to happen to them? Tom thought he should hate her for making him feel like such a fool and rejecting him. However, he really didn't. Tom was still mad about her, not at her. A shadow appeared in the empty corridor. He couldn't see their face but he could hear the clacking of heels.

"I’m sorry! Won’t you please just listen to me?" he exclaimed, in a moment of desperation, grabbing the wrist of the dark figure. However, as the dark figure was illuminated in the light from the office, it was the far opposite of Frankie.

"Sorry. It's just me."

Leri appeared from the mysterious figure in the dark and Tom instantly let go of her pale slender wrist. Her long blonde hair was braided to the side and she was wearing a dress quite similar to Frankie’s, but in emerald with black peep toe heels. Her ruby red lips were curled in a sickening sweet smile that didn’t fit her. He would've rather seen Frankie's smile more than anything else in the world right now, but there was a slim chance that he would ever see her smiling at him again. After what just happened. After what he just did to her.

"Is there something wrong?" Leri asked, curiously. Of course, something was wrong. Everything was wrong.

"It’s nothing."

"Oh, really. I saw that display earlier," she admitted. "I hate to say I told you so, but I’ve always said that you two were just too different.”

"Could you leave?" Tom begged, trying not to explode with anger. He was in no mood for this horrid bitch to be spouting the same old nonsense in his face. He just wanted to be alone.

"No, I’m not going to leave. Not now and not ever. She may not love you, but I most definitely do, Tom,” Leri replied. Tom looked into those pale grey eyes he had loathed for so long. She was the same girl from first year desperate to shake his hand. A girl who was threatening, cold, and heartless. Tom didn’t want to ever admit to himself that they were more alike and, if Frankie weren’t ever in the picture, they probably would be together. “King and Queen of Slytherin, we’ve always been meant to be.”

She had used speeches like this before, but today he was weak enough to let it work on him. Frankie was finally with Quin. A Gryffindor, just like Leri had always predicted she’d end up with. A Slytherin and a Gryffindor were never meant to be and he had been foolish to ever assume so. Leri accepted all the evil and the coldness, she’d never mentally tried to form him into someone he was not. Frankie had made her decision. And he had made his,

"Fine. As you wish, my queen. Whatever you want…"


	42. Sir, Can you Tell Me About Horcruxes?

The reality of that awful night only started to really get to Tom a few weeks later, when everyone came back from vacation and classes started up again. He hadn’t even seen Frankie the entirety of break. She didn’t show up for meals, or even Sunday walks, probably sensing his desperation to talk to her, to make her rethink her decision. Frankie knew it was possible, which is why she wouldn’t face him and why he knew her feelings for Quin weren’t actually as real as she said they were. Also along with the conviction that if she let him have five minutes alone he could talk her out of all of this, she was leaving him alone with even more pitifully pathetic thoughts passing through his mind like, "If only I had just gotten to her ten minutes sooner, I wouldn’t be in this goddamn mess!" However, deep down he knew this whole thing was entirely his own fault. Tom would secretly admit that to himself, at least. There was so much time to tell her. He should’ve told her a long time ago how he felt, if he had ever hoped to have those feelings returned.

So, ever since the new term began, Tom was forced to grin and bear it, listen to all the girls from different houses gossip about the new _couple_ and watch as the two walked to classes’ hand-in-hand. She always had that smile on her face, which used to be always directed at him. The sight of it all made Tom want to use the Cruciatus Curse on himself, over and over again. It’d be less of sickening, heart-wrenching pain. However, he was going to have to continue to just deal with it. Obviously, the two were not going to be breaking up anytime soon and he had already had enough. Tom had even seriously considered taking matters into his own hands and breaking up them up himself. With his skills it would be child's play to just kill off that stupid git. Tom could easily order the Basilisk to kill him and no one would ever know the buffoon’s disappearance/murder was all his doing. The only problem was that, ever since vacation ended, Dumbledore seemed to be keeping a rather close eye on him. It seemed like he was around every corner and in every corridor. He even sometimes “secretly” followed Tom to classes, even if his was all the way at the other end of the school. Also, it probably wasn’t the best idea to use the Basilisk anyway. Now, that Hagrid was in Azkaban and he had no one to fall back on anymore.

That idiot made her happy and, right now, that just wasn’t something Tom could do.

Suddenly, amidst Tom’s deep thoughts and mindless staring at Frankie and Quin from an empty nearby corridor, someone had wrapped their arms around his waist from behind him. Oh, great…it was more of his unfortunate reality.

"Get off of me." Tom hissed, coldly, knowing it could only be Leri. They were alone, so he could be as cruel as he wanted to her. He still practically hated her, however, in public’s eye they were also the sixth year’s new shining couple. Tom kept up his charming façade with Leri in public, acting like she was his princess. However, it was probably because he knew Leri was the one girl Frankie simply just hated. Surely, he could make her writhe in the same jealousy he got when he saw her and Quin. Unfortunately, so far it seemed to have no effect on her. Did she even notice that he and Leri were together at all?

If she didn't know, now was a great time to tell her. Frankie had waved Quin goodbye and was surprisingly headed straight for him and Leri. Her wavy hazel hair bouncing up and down, as she mindlessly walked closer to them, with a chipper spring in her step. However, as soon as she noticed them blocking the path, she stopped with a tiny scowl.

"Oh, good day, Tom…" Frankie stated, a bit too formally from usual. However, at this point, Tom was willing to take anything he could get. She hadn’t spoken to him since the night of Slughorn’s party. Every time he’d tried over vacation, she’d run away before he even got within two feet of her.

"I haven't seen you around lately." Tom replied, even though it seemed like she was everywhere he went since classes began again. It was a rare moment to get her alone, though. Apparently, being with someone meant being with them almost every second of the day. If only he was alone too…

"I'm sorry. I've been rather busy, as of late." she lied. Tom knew it was a lie, considering she couldn’t have had been busy over vacation and the term just started on Monday. However, Frankie smiled and gave him a look that made him melt on the inside, and he suddenly didn’t care that she was blatantly lying to him. It was possible that the fact that she was taken just made him want her all the more.

"Don't worry it's not your fault." he laughed, trying not to look directly at her smile. However, he couldn’t stop himself from looking at her longingly. She looked at him, as if she wanted to tell him something, but was holding it back. A loud cough from behind Tom brought them out of their own little world and back into the harsh reality. Leri grabbed onto Tom's arm and gave Frankie a sinister glare of superiority.

"Hello, Leri…" Frankie muttered, quietly. Her warm happy smile was gone in an instant.

"Didn't you hear?" Leri smirked, even though Frankie had made no prior segue into the impending painful conversation.

"I can't say that I did. I’m sorry…"

"Tom and I are—"

"Oh, I had no idea," Frankie laughed, quickly cutting off Leri before she could finish. It sounded like she didn’t actually want to hear the words out loud. "I suppose you would probably mind me taking him for a little a while, then. It's Sunday."

“Actually, I—”

"She wouldn't mind at all. Come on, let's go." Tom added, hastily, before Leri could answer. He didn’t care if she had skipped the past couple weeks and for some odd reason was just now choosing to return to Sunday walks. It was too good to be true and he wasn’t about to let his stupid girlfriend ruin the opportunity. The two would get to be alone together, even if for just a little while. He grabbed her hand and whispered, _“Run!”_

The two of them ran for it, leaving the angry Leri in their wake. They collapsed at the base of the tree a couple minutes later. There really was no need to run. It was not like she would actually chase them down, but for some reason it seemed very venting.

"I'm—exhausted," Frankie huffed, out-of-breath. She closed her eyes and slumped onto his shoulder, still catching her breath. Tom looked down at her with the same eyes full of desperate longing. The fact that she was there with him really did feel almost too good to be true. He was a bit worried if he took his eyes off her or closed them even for a second, he’d wake up in his bed. Once she started breathing normally again, she sprung off his shoulder, as if it were poisonous. "Sorry…"

"It's ok. I don't mind…"

"You have a _girlfriend_ _,_ now. You should mind." Frankie added, changing the subject. She had said the word "girlfriend" with such hate in her voice, as if it were a bad thing to have. In this case, it was. "I didn’t know you liked Leri. How _interesting_ …"

"What about you? You have a boyfriend! What’s so wrong about me and Leri?" Tom retaliated, defensively.

"She's a horrendous cow, though, Tom! You know that!" Frankie blurted out. She covered her hand over her mouth and sideway glanced over to see how Tom reacted. To her surprise, he was calm.

"And I’ve always thought your boyfriend a real prat, _you_ know that." Tom retaliated back at her, truthfully. Of course, unlike Tom, this comment had actually made Frankie mad. Unlike his, relationship hers wasn't a complete sham, just only partially.

“He is not! And at least he had the courage tell me how he felt,” Frankie protested. “Also, when did you ask her out? Five seconds after I left?! Did it really take you that long to get over me? I thought you said you loved me or was that just another one of your lies.”

"What am I supposed to do? Fawn over you forever? Get over yourself." Tom yelled, angrily. Even though she was technically right, he was not going to let her have the satisfaction catching him in the wrong. Although, Tom calmed down a bit, when he saw the look on her face. Her expression was rightly pained, as expected for someone getting yelled at. He was hurting her yet again. "Also, who ever said I was over you…"

Frankie gave him one last withering look, before turning to run away. Whatever this was, she couldn’t do it anymore. It was a mistake to think that if she had come out here, everything would be the same as it was before. Tom grabbed her by the wrist before she was able to take off. She stopped and luckily did not struggle and yell for him to release her. However, she didn't face him either.

“If you think I'm just going to give up, your dead wrong…” It came out a bit more like a threat than a statement, but he knew that she would still understand his intentions. She finally turned to face him. Her cheeks were turning red, but she still looked as though she was about to cry. Suddenly, she wrapped her arms around him. Tom was so stunned he had accidently let go of her wrist.

"You’re such an idiot." she muttered, sentimentally, before she ran off. It seemed so unlike her to do something like that. So, much for getting back to normal. He also had foolishly thought that things would be able to be like they used to, but they ended up fighting. Things were apparently too different now that they couldn’t even be friends anymore. Tom walked back alone thinking about what she had meant by "idiot". He wasn't watching where he was going and probably for the first time in his life he did something utterly clumsy and idiotic. Crashing in to people was something only Frankie did, but perhaps just the thought of her made him more like her. Luckily, he had only run into Slughorn instead of a fellow classmate.

"Are you alright, Tom?" he asked, looking concerned. Was he alright? Lately nothing was "alright" nowadays, including him.

"No. I don't think that I am, sir." Tom answered, truthfully.

"Well, what's wrong? Did you hit your head? Or was it your foo—"

"It's not a physical injury, sir. I'm just not feeling all that well…" Tom interrupted, stopping Slughorn from making a list of body parts Tom could've hurt.

"I sure hope you feel better in time…"

"In time for what, sir?"

"Oh, I'm just having a little dinner party tonight and I was hoping you would come." Slughorn replied, revealing his true purpose.

"I'm sure I would be able to manage it," Tom answered, not even having to really think about it. If it was a party, surely he would see Frankie there. "Did you invite Frankie as well?"

"No, I'm afraid not. It's just going to be some boys from Slytherin house. Besides, I doubt she would want to come anyway, since her new boyfriend isn't invited," Slughorn laughed, with a hearty chuckle that stabbed Tom in the stomach. "Speaking of which, where is she? Isn't she with you?"

"She's gone already…" Tom sighed, gazing off towards the castle.

"That's too bad. It's been a while since she and I have chatted outside of class," Slughorn sighed, looking just as disappointed as Tom was that she wasn't there. "Oh well, I'll see you tonight then, Tom!"

He left Tom and strode off in the direction of the Three Broomsticks. Tom had finally made it back up to the castle and was about to go just sit in his room and to homework, before Slughorn’s dinner party, when he was suddenly attacked. Leri had come out from behind a nearby corner, grabbed his collar, and tugged him into the corner with her with a surprising amount of strength he didn’t expect her slender skeletal arms to have. It was like a scene straight out of a horror film and Tom fully expected her to pull out a knife and stab him at any moment.

"What are you—?”

"What are _you_ doing? Running off with _her_ like that! I'm your girlfriend." she hissed, angrily, at him.

"You know, as well as I, that you’re not really—"

Leri tightened her grip and made him look out into the corridor. Frankie and Quin stood side-by-side, in the group of six year Gryffindors, laughing about something. She looked happy now, despite what had happened earlier.

"Do you see them, Tom? How many times do I have to tell you that you've lost? She's with him, another Gryffindor. That's what I've been telling you since the beginning, Tom. They're Gryffindors! They're mates for life!" Leri yelled, psychotically. Finally, she let go of him and he was able to step away.

"Most girls don't have to bully boys into being their boyfriends, you know?" he replied, coldly. Tom began to walk away, rubbing his neck from the collar burn. It wasn't till he had started walking away did she decide to answer,

"I don't care..."

Her pale grey eyes stared up at him, looking almost sad. "As long as you're mine, it doesn't matter.”

As much as Tom didn't care for her, he knew how she was feeling. Fighting so hard for someone to return your feelings. He almost felt sorry for her. However, then there was the fact she had almost killed Frankie in that pursuit. Then again, how was what she did any different from him? Tom had actually killed his entire family and had thought about how easy it would be to kill Quin too. The more time he spent with her the more he realized they probably had far more in common than him and Frankie ever did.

Tom and Leri walked back to the dorms together in silence, but hand-in-hand. All he could do for now was give up and give in. Yet he still couldn't help stare at Frankie until she disappeared from sight. He sat on his bed alone a few minutes later in the boy's dorm room. Where everyone else was he didn't know, nor did he care. They would just bother him even more. Tom stared down at the black stone ring around his finger. He had stolen the ring from his drunk of an uncle, Morfin Gaunt, before framing him for the murders of Thomas, Mary, and most importantly Tom Riddle Sr. Tom had nicked as kind of a panic move and looked it up in the library later, to see if it was actually worth anything. Turns out it just happened to be a Peverell family heirloom. It was proof he was an ancestor of the Peverell family and a descendant of Salazar Slytherin. However, there was something more to it. There was something odd about this ring that Tom could not place his finger on. Perhaps it was because the stone reminded him of a darkened heart, a ruined soul. A quick gaze over at the black diary reminded him his soul had been ruined quite a while ago...

His gaze had got caught on the journal, when room suddenly filled noise and all his roommates came storming in.

"Why don't you want to go, Malfoy?" Lestrange asked. They were most likely talking about Slughorn's party. Why Malfoy didn't want to go either was beyond him. Tom just wanted them all to stop talking.

"I'm in no mood!" Malfoy pouted.

"You need to get over it," Lestrange stated, clearly fed up. Tom instantly knew Lestrange was talking about, even though it could’ve been a number of different things. For he and Malfoy were actually in the same slump.

"I am over it! That not it."

"Would you imbeciles be quiet for just five seconds?" Tom yelled, obviously irritated. Like always, they all immediately stopped talking. Tom still had complete authority over the lot. Of course, when your ancestor is the founder of your house it pretty much gives you all the power.

"Looks like somebody else is in a bad mood too," Lestrange added, daring to break the silence. "You sound just like Malfoy."

"Except he's hung over on some stupid, ugly girl and you lot are just irritating me." Tom yelled, angrily. He was allowed to insult her without self-guilt from his inner self, now. Sometimes he’d try to convince himself to begin to loathe her, like he did with everyone else in the world. He had offered her something that wasn’t a feeling he was even supposed to really have and she had denied him. All she really could be to him now, if not his girlfriend or his friend, was what he had always was meant to “him”. A filthy, stupid Gryffindor.

"I told you it's not—"

"Don't even bother trying to lie to me, Malfoy," Tom commanded, with a cruel smirk. "You’re sad because _that_ wretch of a girl chose Quin, over you. I honestly don't know what you see in _her_."

"Then I don't know what you see in her either," Malfoy answered, regaining his smug attitude, "because, if I recall correctly, you're the one who’s actually in love with her."

What was supposed to be his big reveal had put the other boys in a fit of laughter instead of an utter shock in which they would never recover. The thought of their leader in love in the first place just made them cackle. Why would anyone ever be in love with that cold and heartless madman? And, furthermore, why would he ever be in love, especially with a girl like that? It was a ridiculous notion.

"He was pretending, just to get to you, Malfoy," Lestrange laughed, going off the lie Tom had told him. "Besides, didn't you know Tom already has a girlfriend?"

"Who?" Malfoy asked, looking over at Tom with even more disbelief then the other boys

"Leri." Lestrange answered, as if it were obvious.

"You ought to bite your tongue before you speak about me with such informality," Tom commanded, strictly. He was not about to have a conversation about her with them. "The both of you."

All of them then left for the party a few minutes later. Of course, no one was really in the mood for it, though. Tom sat in a cushy armchair resting his right hand negligently on the arm occasionally looking down at the black stone ring upon it. While Slughorn sat across from him grasping a wine glass and picking through the box of Crystallised Pineapple. Tom had brought it for him. Sitting around in a circle of armchairs chatting after dinner was a rather dull thing but Slughorn seemed content with it, so Tom was forced to just grin and bear it.

"Sir, is it true Professor Merrythought is retiring?" Tom asked, keeping on the drab conversation. In truth, Tom could care less about another professor retiring, but on another note it left her position open. Who’d be taking it? Perhaps, he could fill it once he finished up school. He thought about it for another second, but then decided against it. Dealing with this nonsense all his life was not what he wanted to do.

"Tom, Tom if I knew I couldn't tell you," Slughorn laughed, waving his sugar-coated finger at him in disapproval. However, winked at Tom with a knowing look, confirming his information correct. "I must say, I'd like to know where you get your information, boy, more knowledgeable than half the staff you are."

Tom smiled as the rest of the boys cast him looks of jealousy.

"What with your uncanny ability to know things you shouldn't, and your careful flattery of the people who matter—thank you for the pineapple, by the way, you're quite right, it is my favorite—"

He fondly remembered Frankie telling him that piece of information in their third year and had brought the box last minute. He had been hoping to share it with her, considering it was their favorite too. But given the current circumstances…

"—I confidently expect you to rise to Minister of Magic within twenty years. Fifteen, if you keep sending me pineapple, I have _excellent_ contacts at the Ministry."

Again, Tom smiled but not at what he said or the boys nervously laughing around him _._ _"You would be perfect for the ministry. You have the perfect grades, you’re a Prefect, and soon you’ll be the Head Boy…It's only a matter of time, really."_ It seemed like it had been an eternity since she gave him such kind words.

"I don't know that politics would suit me, sir," Tom stated, once the nervous laughter had subsided. "I don't have the right kind of background, for one thing."

"Nonsense," Slughorn insisted, "couldn't be plainer you come from decent wizarding stock, abilities like yours. No, you'll go far, Tom, I've never been wrong about a student yet."

For a second, Tom thought he was going to mention his other prodigy of a student, but then the small golden clock sitting on Slughorn's desk struck eleven. Slughorn looked behind at it with a baffled expression.

"Good gracious, is it that time already? You'd better get going boys, or we’ll all be in trouble. Lestrange, I want your essay by tomorrow or its detention. I same goes for you, Avery."

Avery and Lestrange grumbled as the boys rose out of the armchairs and began to head back to the dorm. Slughorn hoisted himself from his armchair as well, carrying his wine glass over to his desk. Tom, however, did not leave. He stood frozen, until Slughorn notice his presence and turned around.

"Look sharp, Tom, you don't want to be caught out of bed out of hours, and you're a Prefect…"

"Sir, I wanted to ask you something." Tom started. _I wonder if I could… Well the book never said anything against it. But…_

He had the idea in the back of his mind for a while, one he had formed trying to take his mind away from all his problems, but wasn't quite sure about it. Tom had once again filled the requirements to make a Horcrux. Surely, he should be able to make a second one, become even closer to immortality. However, if he couldn't he would probably die. He needed more information.

"Ask away, then, m'boy, ask away…" he answered, heartily, not knowing what was about to be asked was far among regular topics of conversation.

"Sir, I wondered what you know…about Horcruxes?" Tom asked, acting like he was only curious and innocent. Professor Slughorn flinched.

"Project for Defense Against the Dark Arts, is it?" Slughorn asked, trying to delay the answer a bit.

"Not exactly, sir," Tom admitted. "I came across the term while reading and I didn't fully understand it."

"No…well…you'd be hard-pushed to find a book at Hogwarts that'll give you details on Horcruxes, Tom, that's very dark stuff, very dark indeed," Slughorn answered. You could hear in his voice he was growing a bit concerned, but Tom knew just how to play him.

"But you obviously know all about them, sir? I mean, a wizard like you—sorry, I mean, if you can't tell me, obviously—I just knew if anyone could tell me, you could—so I just thought I'd ask—"

"Well," Slughorn sighed, quietly, refusing to look Tom in the eyes. He fiddled with the ribbon on top of his box of Crystallised Pineapple. "well, it can't hurt to give you an overview, of course. Just so that you understand the term. A Horcrux is the word used for an object in which a person has concealed part of their soul."

"I don't quite understand how that works, though, sir," Tom added, once again.

"Well, you split your soul, you see," Slughorn explained, "and hide part of it in an object outside the body. Then, even if one's body is attacked or destroyed, one cannot die, for part of the soul remains earthbound and undamaged. But of course, existence in such a form few would want it, Tom, very few. Death would be preferable."

"How do you split your soul?" Tom asked, even though he already knew very well how to do it. He had a piece of his soul lying on his bedside table at this very moment. The question he was really trying to ask was, _how many times can you split your soul?_ But all in good time…

"Well," Slughorn sighed again, shifting around uncomfortably, "you must understand that the soul is supposed to remain intact and whole. Splitting it is an act of violation, it is against nature."

"But how do you do it?"

"By an act of evil—the supreme act of evil. By committing murder. Killing rips the soul apart. The wizard intent upon creating a Horcrux would use the damage to his advantage. He would encase the torn portion—"

"Encase? But how—"

"There is a spell, do not ask me, I don't know!" Slughorn sputtered, nervously. "Do I look as though I have tried it—do I look like a killer?"

"No, sir, of course not," Tom added, quickly. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to offend…"

"Not at all, not at all, not offended," said Slughorn hoarsely. "It is natural to feel some curiosity about these things…Wizards of a certain caliber have always been drawn to that aspect of magic…"

"Yes, sir," Tom agreed, immediately. "What I don't understand, though—just out of curiosity—I mean, would one Horcrux be much use? Can you only split your soul once? Wouldn't it be better, make you stronger, to have your soul in more pieces, I mean, for instance, isn't seven the most powerfully magical number, wouldn't seven—?"

"Merlin's beard, Tom!" Slughorn yelped, in shock. "Seven! Isn't it bad enough to kill one person? And in any case…bad enough to divide the soul…but to rip it into seven pieces…"

Tom noticed the deeply troubled expression on Slughorn's face and decided it was best not to ask any more questions. It wouldn't matter though he had already gotten enough information.

"Of course," Slughorn muttered. "this is all hypothetical, what we're discussing, isn't it? All academic…"

"Yes, sir, of course.”

"But all the same, Tom…keep it quiet, what I've told—that's to say, what we've discussed. People wouldn't like to think we've been chatting about Horcruxes. It's a banned subject at Hogwarts, you know…Dumbledore's particularly fierce about it…"

Of course, _he_ would be against it…

"I won't say a word, sir," Tom promised, as he turned to leave. He walked through the empty corridors, then broke out in a sprint. He could no longer contain himself. Tom rushed into an empty dungeon, near Slytherin common room. He placed the black stone ring on the ground and raised his wand at it.

_spiritus O vitae et mortis. Offero tibi agrum meum commercium vitae.…_

A head splitting pain soared through him as he finished the spell. It was more of an excruciating pain, then it had been the first time. A white light exited his body and showered down on the black stone ring.

_Two down, five more to go…_


	43. Our Last Summer Playing House

" _We’ll soon be approaching our seventh year. Are you ready?"_

"Huh?" Frankie stammered, snapping out of a deep distraction and realizing someone was actually talking to her. She was suddenly pulled away from her thoughts and back onto the couch in Gryffindor common room. Quin was the one who was talking to her. It was a Monday night in early June and they were just finishing the last of their homework assignments of the year before they could start relaxing without consequence. They were doing it together, in what had recently become the norm. Frankie couldn’t work with her old study buddy, for obvious reasons.

"Weren't you paying attention?" Quin asked, stopping the momentary doodling of a Phoenix on his parchment.

"No, I wasn't. Sorry…" Frankie answered, truthfully. She had been gazing down at her locket for the hundredth time, mindlessly twirling it between her fingers like she always did. Although, she was still very angry at Tom, Frankie still thought of him very often. Lately, she had been hearing a lot of rumors about Tom being sent to the hospital wing, with a strange occurring illness. He rarely ever got sick before. Even though she’d been mostly avoiding him for months now, it was not like she didn’t care about him at all. On the contrary, she still cared a lot, but… Well, let's just say he had his _girlfriend_ to take care of him and she was just some Gryffindor to him now.

"Keep this spacy attitude up and you're not going to make Head Girl." Quin teased, tussling her hazel hair playfully.

"I am going to make Head Girl," she stated, confidently. Frankie was more determined to earn the coveted title, nowadays. She didn’t know why, but she felt like she wanted it. Perhaps, it was because Tom was convinced that the position was going to be hers and drilled it into her brain that she had already earned the coveted title. Her mind flashed to back to December. _"You'll be my Head Girl, won't you?"_ She would be “ _his”_ Head Girl, technically. There was no doubt among the sixth years that Tom would be Head Boy next year. "but you aren't.”

"Of course, I'm not. Only girls can be Head Girls, silly." Quin joked. She laughed at his lame humor.

"I'm going up to bed. I'll see you tomorrow.” Frankie stated, as she began to pick up her books and head towards the stairs.

"Don't I get a goodnight kiss?" Quin asked, flirtatiously pulling her back onto the couch.

"Never!" she laughed, struggling to break free from his grip. Frankie broke loose and jetted up the stairs. Of course, all Quin had to do was step onto one of the steps before she came sliding back down. "C'mon lemme' go."

"Look out below!" a voice called from the top. The two were unable to move in time before another body came swirling down. A mess of blonde hair that could only be Dylan sat on top of the hurtled mass of bodies.

"Ow, Dylan…" Frankie groaned.

"I told you to watch out," Dylan answered, defensively. "It's not my fault. You should've been moving out of the way, instead of flirting with your boyfriend."

"I was not!"

"I'm pretty sure that's what I heard."

"Can we go now?" Frankie added, hastily, giving up on the feud. Dylan nodded and they ascended up the new set of stairs. Life in Gryffindor house seemed to always be hectic and cheerful, so far from the outside world. They seemed to be a world of their own and Frankie was soaking it up while she could. She had to go back to the orphanage soon, with Tom, and she didn’t want to have to deal with all those problems. This time without incident they made it to their room. Frankie's stuff lay spread out on her bed blocking her from just plopping down on it from dead exhaustion. She began throwing them into her open trunk with some sort of force, as if she was angry at them too.

_Ping!_

" _What was that?"_ Frankie thought, looking around with an armful of clothes in her arms. She saw the glittering chain of her locket halfway under her bed and plopped the clothes back onto her bed to go retrieve it. As she turned it over in hand, she really started to examine her keepsake. Frankie wore it every day, but how long had it been since she really looked at it? She sat on ground and opened it up. A little swirling couple danced in and out of the heart shaped frame. Was that really her? She had seen the picture many times before, but it looked so different to her now. The eleven year old her looked over-joyed and even Tom seemed to have a somewhat happy air to him. He was almost smiling normally as she spun him around in circles. Were they really that happy back then? She silently wondered if Tom ever looked at his print of the picture and thought the same sort of things.

"Having second thoughts, are you?"

All her roommates were strewn across her bed looking down at her. Frankie recoiled slightly, out of shock, at the sight of the four faces that had appeared there by magic. She sunk in their words and quickly composed herself.

"I don't what you're talking about." Frankie answered, stubbornly. She got up off the ground, re-clasped the locket around her neck, and continued packing. Or tried to continue packing. They were laying on all her clothes.

"Yes, you do." Sarah argued, roping her back into the conversation she was desperately trying to escape.

"Well, I'm not having second thoughts about _him_." she answered, huffily, saying “him” with such distain as if she really hated Tom. As her girlfriends, Frankie was naturally forced to spill on what happened at Slughorn’s party, when they returned from winter vacation. After hearing about no other boy but Tom for six years, they were naturally confused about why she had rejected him.

"Seriously, it seems like just yesterday you two were one person and now you're barely speaking to him." Bina stated.

"People change,” Frankie answered, weakly, quickly failing at ignoring them. Even though, it was her who was driving him further and further away from her. It had nothing to do with them changing. She just couldn’t deal with him being in love with her. And neither could he. Tom claimed he loves her, yet he continues to talk like he hates her to his friends and took up with Leri almost the second she had rejected him, “and I guess we've both just changed too much for each other."

"You can't avoid him forever, you know. Soon it’s going to be summer and you two are going back to the orphanage. Just the two of you. What are you going to do?" Katy tried asking.

"I never said I was trying to avoid him. Are relations—I mean—are _friend_ ship is fine right now. We’re both fine." Frankie answered, trying to hold back her frustration. Although, it wasn't her friend’s faults. They really were right about her. She just didn't want to admit to how cowardly, even she thought, she was being. It was just that ever since their fight she didn't know how to talk to him anymore and she was fearful she had already driven him too far away.

"If you say its fine, why haven't you been going to visit him when he goes to the hospital wing? Aren't you worried about him?"

"Of course, I'm worried!" Frankie shot back, defensively. She looked to be on the verge of tears. Frankie played it off like she didn’t care every time it was ever brought up to her, but in reality she cared more than anything. He was sick and she couldn’t bring herself to see him, as much as her heart wanted to. She was too scared.

"Just lay off her a little, girls!" Dylan shouted. Unlike the other girls, she was at her own bed packing. Frankie was sure she had seen her lying right next to the other girls. When had she gotten up? "She’s probably going to go visit tomorrow. Now, that the all the end of term work is done, right?"

Frankie nodded her head silently, even though that originally was not what she planned to do tomorrow. However, perhaps, it was a good idea to go see how he was doing. She had to get over this stupid fear and running away. Eventually, she’d be forced to face him properly again. She might as well do it on her own terms, going to the hospital wing tomorrow would give her a chance to apologize for how she’d been acting. Truthfully, she just wanted her best friend back. She wanted everything to go back to how it was before. On that note, the other girls dispersed back to their own beds and back to packing as well.

A bouquet of flowers in hand, completely forgetting how much he hated them until she was seconds from the entrance, Frankie nervously headed towards the hospital wing the next morning. She could just feel his glooming presence inside the wing and froze. What if he was mad at her? She wouldn’t blame him, if he was. However, she really didn't want to see that famously hateful glare directed at her. He hadn’t truly glared at her, since she first came to the orphanage. That was probably another one of the signs she forgot to notice. Lately, she had begun to realize all the little things Tom did to express his feelings for her over the years and felt a little stupid for not noticing them all sooner.  

Frankie took a deep breath and walked ever so slowly into the room, until she spotted him in the seventh bed on her left. Tom sat in one of the many hospital beds looking, very, very flushed, and reading out of the most recent copy of the Daily Prophet. He spotted her too , out of the corner of his eye, and buried his face further into the paper, growing even more flushed.

"Hi…" she managed to squeak out. He was still covering most of his face with the paper, so she couldn't tell if he was mad or not. "It's like last year all over again, huh?"

"Not really," Tom replied, coldly. Unlike last year, the Horcrux made a longer lasting effect this time. He got fevers quite regularly and sick spells. It was rather embarrassing and very bothersome. The only bright side of Frankie being angry at him was that she wouldn’t have to see him in such a pathetic state. "Don't look at me."

"What? Why?"

"I don't want you to see me like this." he mumbled, adding an exasperated sigh at the end. Out of all the people he didn’t want showing up for a visit, she was the first.

"You don't need to hide from me," Frankie smiled, with a slight giggle. Tom never was the shy type. It was cute and a little out of character. She grabbed the chair by the bed and twirled it around to face the other way. "If you want, I’ll turn around…"

"Why did you come here?"

"I was worried."

"You were?"

"Of course, I was. I’ve heard you've been going to the hospital wing a lot," she admitted, growing happier that she didn't have to look at him. It would have been harder to admit it to his face. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault. You don’t need to apologize,” Tom stated. He knew she wasn’t blaming herself for his illness, she was apologizing for completely ignoring him since January. And strangely he forgave her. “Honestly, I'm fine."

"Really? Which time is this? The tenth time?"

"Eleventh, actually…" he replied, truthfully. So, she had been keeping up on all his hospital visits, yet chose to visit only just now. Curious. Tom said he was fine, but the still flushed look on his face would’ve said otherwise. “But it's no big deal. I don't know why they keep sending me here."

"You better get well soon. It's almost time to go back to the orphanage," she added, her voice going a little more serious. "The last time we'll ever have to go back."

"It feels too good to be true."

"By next summer, we'll have to get jobs and houses. We'll have to be adults," Frankie sighed, grimly. She had never really been a fan of growing up, since they had found a place to call home. The idea of making it on her own, all alone. She still had no idea what she wanted to do beyond Hogwarts. However, it was about time she started to enjoy the little time they had left together, in the prison they’d been fortunate enough to find each other in. "Why don't we try to make this the best summer ever, kay'?"

"Alright, then," Tom agreed. "If that is what you wish…"

A fun summer? Was that even possible at this point? Especially in a place like _that_. The time soon came when the two arrived at 9 ¾ hoping to forget the drama and just be friends like before, like they had used to be. With one final swoosh through the pillar, they spotted Mrs. Cole standing in the crowd smiling, maniacally. She knew well that it was going to be their last summer and they could already tell she was planning on trying to make it a living hell.

"Welcome back." Mrs. Cole muttered, in a sort of fake-politeness. The two merely stared blankly at her, not wanting to greet her. Twilit was hooting loudly for their attention, but they tried not to pay too much attention to the owl in the cage. She would most likely lock him under the stairs if they showed him any sort of emotion or attachment to the thing. "Let's get going, now. There is much to be done…"

They hadn't been there since the end of last summer, yet it felt so much longer. The sights looked so much different. Although, that was probably cause most of them had been bombed. They passed by the burned ruins of Frankie's old house and they actually looked normal for once. Suddenly, Frankie saw a man, just standing in the middle of the sidewalk staring up at it. It must have just been a passerby, looking at another one of the cities wrecked houses.

They walked up to the same old rusted gates in the late afternoon. Mrs. Cole entered first pulling both trunks behind her only to pull them into the cupboard under the stairs. Little did she know, the two were now of age and had all they needed to cause the havoc she imagined lying in their pockets. Tom smirked, as they watched the pudgy women trying to stuff the small cupboard, knowing it’d all be in vain. Unfortunately, once she took out the cleaning supplies that were inside their trunks fit right in. She shoved two mops into both of their hands soon to be followed by two buckets.

"I'm going out and this place better be spotless when I get back." Mrs. Cole coldly pushing past them toward the door.

"What?" Tom protested. "We just got back."

"Exactly. You need to make up time for being at school all year, not to mention being gone all last summer. Times are tough and you brats need to help out." Mrs. Cole answered.

"We've never had to before." Frankie argued. Mrs. Cole gave her a particularly large scowl for that.

"Well, now you're older."

"Why can't the people who actually work here do this?" Tom asked, glaring at her heavily.

"They’re coming with me. It’s ladies night," Mrs. Cole, replied thrusting the door back open. As if on cue, the other women who worked there had come out and were all heading towards the door. "Come on, ladies. Let's go!"

All the women left the house, leaving the two standing alone in the middle of the hall. The only sound that could be heard was the muffled sounds of screaming and laughing from the other room.

"What are we going to do?" Frankie asked, nervously.

"We'll just leave them in there." he answered, side-glancing over at the door. Just looking at it gave him a headache. The screams could be heard clearly through the shut door.

"We’ll have to let them out eventually." she added, giving him a harsh look.

"Surely, they won't be out long." Tom tried reasoning.

"Knowing _that_ woman, for what seems like forever, she'll try to stay out as long as possible." She was right. Mrs. Cole would try to stay out as long as she could just to make them suffer. She probably was planning to stay out to midnight at the least.

They stared at the door. They had no idea exactly how many kids had come and gone. Unfortunately, since Amy Benson and Billy Stubb had been adopted a while back, there was no chance relying on them to help out. By the sound of it, they were the only people in the house who had all of their adult teeth.

"Magic can take care of the cleaning and I'm sure we can handle a few kids." Tom answered, finally.

"You hate kids, Tom." Frankie added, bluntly.

"I don't hate them. I'm just not too good with dealing with them, but you're great with them. I think we'll be alright," he answered, trying to not let the comment affect him. Even though it was true. "Are you ready?"

"I'm ready." Frankie answered. She entered the room, while Tom withdrew his wand from his pocket. It had been so long since he had used his magic here. It would feel good, even if it was just for cleaning. With one swish of his wand the mops swung into motion, the feather duster went onto the banister and a dirty rag went to go find a window. Tom could hear Frankie's voice from the other room, singing, amongst the laughter.

_Ring around the Rosie. A pocket full of posies. Ashes, ashes,_

_We all fall down._

Tom smiled to himself. Her singing voice was just as pleasant as her regular voice. Even though it was such a sad song, when you really thought about it, she sang it with so much joy and yet such sadness. A couple minutes later the mops fell to a stop and shimmied themselves to a stop, along with the rags and dusters. A quick double check to make sure there was no sign of magic and then he slowly opened the door. There was so much going on at once he couldn't possibly focus on one thing. The girls stood aside, giggling to themselves, looking over their shoulders every few minutes. The boys roaring like dinosaurs, crumbling towers of blocks to the ground. Frankie was sitting in the middle of the chaos, alone for a moment, in the only adult sized chair. Suddenly, a ton of them were at her side clinging to her, as if she was their older sister. Tom tried as casually as possible to approach her without disturbing anything. She noticed him immediately.

"Are you finished already?"

"It's not like it was going to take—"

A new problem arose, as an angry whine interrupted them.

"I'm hungry!"

It seems as one said that the others mucked up the courage to admit their dire hunger as well. Suddenly, they were all crowded around them, whining of their dying hunger, to two very frightened looking teenagers. Tom gazed over at the grandfather clock at the other side of the room. It was almost six o’ clock.

"You know how to cook right?" Tom asked, quickly.

"A–little—I mean, I—"

"I'll handle the kids this time. You can go cook." he commanded.

"Are you sure?" Frankie answered, unsure. She looked worried about leaving him alone with a bunch of kids. He had his powers back and old habits die hard.

"Yes. Now, hurry up." Tom remarked, pushing her towards the door.

Frankie shuffled out of the room, shutting the door behind her. Tom sat down in the chair and tried to not get aggravated. He was already getting a mind splitting headache from being in there this long. Suddenly, a familiar face was tugging on the sleeve of his shirt. It was the little boy from last summer.

"Did you tell her yet?" he asked, continuing right back from where they had left off as if Tom hadn't left at all. Tom tried not to frown at the thought, but remain emotionless.

"Let's just say, it didn't work out…" Tom answered, staring off at the far wall. For a second he thought he could smell something burning, but it whiffed away quickly. Perhaps, he was just a bit worried. Frankie still didn’t do well with stairs, falling, or fire. Although, she rarely let it show with things like she had no problem with fireplaces, but it still sat inside her. She had watched most of her house be burned by a fire it was only natural she’d be somewhat afraid of it.

"Doesn't look like it to me."

"Things have changed."

"Like what?" he asked. Tom could think of plenty things. The way she acts towards him, the amount of time they spend together, her _boyfriend_.

"Mature things. You wouldn't understand…" Tom answered. The kid looked thoroughly unconvinced, however, merely shrugged and went back to playing with the other boys. When your childhood sweetheart gets adopted, there are more important things on your mind other than romance. The door burst open and Frankie appeared in the flesh. She had her hazel hair in a messy ponytail and was wearing one of the kitchen’s smudged aprons around her waist.

"Dinner is ready!" Frankie shouted. The kids immediately stopped what they were doing and ran out the door past her. "Wash your hands first!" she added quickly. All of them groaned and started heading towards the bathroom. She then proceeded to walk over to Tom.

"You look different…" he remarked, taking notice to her tied back hair. The entire getup made her look more mature than usual. When he said that she looked different, he meant to say she looked nice.

"Is that a bad thing? I don't really know how to tie my hair up, but I had to do it to keep it out of the way cooking dinner. It looks bad, doesn't it—?"

"Don't worry, it doesn't make you look bad. It just makes you look…older, more mature."

"Really?" Frankie asked, growing a bit red. Tom’s rare compliments always made her heart race. She had to tell her heart to calm down and that it was nothing but simple acknowledgment. It was just a comment. If it were meant to sway her heart in any way, she shouldn’t let it. He had Leri now and whatever he had been feeling for her before must have been a momentary infatuation. A mistake. He was surely over it by now and was no longer trying to woo her in anyway. That was all she could do to keep things normal between them, convince herself whatever feelings they had were fleeting and circumstantial. It made sense he’d think he was in love with her after growing up so close together. And yet…

"Come on, we have kids to feed. Let's go!" Tom stated, taking up her hand and tugging her back towards the kitchen and the dining table. They set the table as together as the kids settled in for whatever Frankie could prepare from their  wartime rations, which wasn’t too much. Unfortunately, food was one thing magic couldn’t help with, but they made due. They always had and they always would. Whether it was feeding over a dozen kids on nothing, or fighting off stubborn, lingering feelings, Tom and Frankie would somehow manage.


	44. A Starry Night

A normal, relaxing summer actually started to seem quite possible as it went on. The whole orphanage had ended up asleep on the playroom floor that first night, after Frankie held a story time, but other than that the torturous task went smoothly. Naturally, they got back at Mrs. Cole for just leaving them there like that, or at least Tom did. Let's just leave it at there was another one of his infamous “incidents” and she ended up wearing a neck brace for most of the supposed vacation. Everything that happened at school seemed to go into a foggy blur here. As much as they hated the orphanage, it was a place where no one magical could find them. Of course, without one another constantly by their sides they wouldn't last five minutes in such a wretched place.

Tom ran into the sunny backyard, appearing to be looking for something. A few days a week at around this time Frankie would disappear and he still couldn't figure out where. She would simply come back and act like she hadn't left. He sat down at the little white table giving up on his search, but just as he sat he heard a rustling in the bush followed by a small yell of shock. He went to check and sure enough there she was, lying face first on the ground.

"Ouch..." Frankie mumbled, wiping the various twigs and leafs of her face.

"What are you doing?" Tom asked, just staring down at this odd behavior. His voice ringed with utter humiliation and an "I-don't-know-you" kind of tone, despite the fact he was not the one on the ground and there no one else around.

"I just tripped. That's all." she answered, simply, rubbing the back of her head.

"You just keep getting clumsier and clumsier." he sighed, helping her to her feet. "Where have you been?"

"Nowhere." Frankie answered, refusing to return his gaze. It was always easy to tell when she was lying. Well, at least when the information didn't matter.

"Don't give me that!" Tom hissed, pulling on her arm a little.

"I was investigating."

"Investigating?" What could she possibly have to investigate _here_? It was the muggle world. Anything interesting that happened here was usually caused by magic.

"Ever since we've got back, I've been seeing this strange man standing in front of my old house. He's always there, but every time I get close enough to make out his face he vanishes," Frankie explained, waving her hand into all sorts of gestures while she told the story. Finally ending it, by plopping down in her usual chair, defeated, and placing her hand against her cheek. "It's weird, but I felt like I've seen him before."

"It doesn't make sense. Half the city is in ruins, why keep returning specifically to your old house?” Tom asked, for himself more than her. He couldn’t help but be curious about it also.

"Well, that's what I'm trying to figure out."

"Then, let's go!"                                               

Suddenly, he was getting to his feet and pulling her out of her chair, before she could protest. She blushed, as he pulled her along the streets. Tom had never shown any sort of courageousness before, a sort of spark in his attitude. He was always cool and collected. However, for some reason in this moment, it was different. They walked a few blocks to the site of Frankie's old house with him still pulling her along as if she were a rag doll.

"Tom, I was just here a while ago. He’s not—"

However, despite her claim, sure enough the man was there. They were closer than Frankie had ever gotten, however, his long blonde hair was so tangled and matted that it still covered his face from view. He sighed and put his hands in his pockets, revealing a silver hip-flask peeking out of his coat.

_That flask!_

Her mind buzzed. She remembered it from somewhere. It was impossible. Frankie let go of Tom and ran towards the man. Unlike, when Frankie snuck up on him, he stayed put and she was finally able to see the face of the mysterious man.

"You!"

They both had yelled at the same time, obviously coming face with one another and realizing they had met each other briefly once before. It was last summer in an elevator at the Ministry of Magic. He had given Frankie some good advice, before he exited the elevator and was attacked by a ruthless blonde. The man’s face was rather warped from before, now that she could see it clearly. His left hazel eye had been replaced with an electric blue one, carelessly strapped on, that kept looking her up and down. That eye, the flask, they both made her head spin she felt as though she had seen them both, only not on him. They shouldn’t be with him. Could it be her mind was still concealing something from her?

"Who are you exactly?" the man asked her.

"I'm Frankie Dickson." she answered, simply, with a generally friendly tone. From what she remembered about the man he was generally nice, despite calling her a kid and threatening to throw her out of the ministry. He had helped her and was one of the rare few who actually believed Hagrid was innocent.

"Then, you're just the person I wanted to see, actually…" he said, in a more grim tone. Frankie stared blankly at him. All her warmth suddenly draining. He had been looking for her. _Why?_

"What do you mean?"

"Your sister—"

"I don't have a sister." Frankie interrupted, immediately thinking she had caught his factual error. The man seemed a bit setback at first, but then his face curled into a smile.

"Heh, I guess you really wouldn’t remember her. You two were like seven years apart." he chuckled, as if it were a rather funny joke.

"That's impossible!" she shouted, the panic growing larger and larger. A _sister_ _?_ She searched her memory but nothing registered. Now that she thought about it, she couldn't remember _anything_ before the age of six.

"Maybe this will clear some things up…"

He handed her a couple documents and some photos, but surely enough there they were both were. Frankie was probably just born a few months. She was being held by the girl from the ministry, the one with piercing blue eyes and sunshine gold locks, with her parents standing behind them. It didn't make sense, but there it was. She couldn’t deny it because she had the same pictures of her too. The ones she’d taken from her old house. That girl was in them, the same name scrawled across the backs. However, as much she wanted to remember actually seeing her in her memories. It didn't all come swimming back to her like before. She couldn't remember her sister. The documents were a copy of her birth certificate along, with both of her parent’s signatures present, and some adoption papers. All were filled with the haunting black letters, _Diana Dickson_ _._

“You were only together for about a year after you were born. Unfortunately, your parents couldn’t put off going into hiding any longer and were forced run. They had to cut off all their magical ties, which included your sister. She was a few years away from school and they didn’t know how long their situation was going to last for,” the man tried explaining, without angering her even more. Frankie imagined how she must’ve felt and how her parents must have felt having to do that. In her raid of the house she didn’t find a single letter from her or to her, maybe then she would’ve known sooner. When the man said that her parents cut all ties, he meant it. “She came to live with my family, yet I never could remember all the details of why she had too. My memories only got a refresher after she was dead as well. We were days from going off to school—well, you know—what happened, happened—”

"Who are you?" she asked, calming down quite a bit, yet still eyeing the man with suspicion.

"Alastor Moody, our families go way back—”

"So, where is she, then? Where’s my sister?" Frankie inquired. For a second, there was a glimpse of a happy life. That girl from the ministry was going to rescue Frankie from having to suffer a last couple months at the orphanage and they would live a happy life, together with family at last. However, if that were true, Alastor Moody would have brought her with him.

"She died. A few weeks after I met you."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner? If she's been dead all this time, why didn't anyone tell me?"

"Look, it was a taboo subject to talk about with Diana and my parents never bothered to explain the full story to me. I never knew she was the daughter of those Aurors and sister of the girl only possibly dead. How was I supposed to put two and two together? I’m not that bright, okay.” Moody explained, in his defense.

“Were you there? Do you know how she died?” Frankie asked, cautiously. If he did have the memory, odds are he didn’t want to share it. However, if he did she just had to hear it.

“You’re sister became an Auror, just like your parents. Her and I, we were out on our first real mission and...she…she…"

"It’s fine. You don't have to tell me." Frankie stated, as she noticed Moody shuttering at the very memory. She could tell it wasn't one he was very fond of remembering or even having for that matter.

"Alright, but I at least think you should know who killed her. I can tell you that much." Moody added. Although, Frankie had a good hunch about who had killed her sister because the same man had killed the rest of her family and it was her sister’s motive. Frankie did not know her, but she knew that was why she mostly decided to become an Auror. Partly, because she wished to follow the same path as her parents and, partly, because the dark wizard who took everything from her was still at large and no one else had the competence to kill him.

"It was _him_ , right? He killed her." she mumbled, through clenched teeth. Moody knew who she was talking about, naturally. Only one person could be behind such a tragedy.

"Yes. It was him."

An extreme electric shock swam through her veins as if she were becoming paralyzed. It was all too much. She hadn’t thought about the man, who had stolen everything from her, able to take even more. The spinning of her head was growing extreme and painful. The surroundings were even starting to spin with it, until it finally turned pitch black and she was finally relieved from the pain. Luckily, Tom had been standing next to her to catch her as she fell. Moody gave him a suspicious look, as if Tom had been the one to appear from out of nowhere.

"I'm sorry. Would you please return another time?" Tom stated, politely, but did not turn to face him.

"What's wrong with her? Is she okay?" Moody asked, offering out a helping hand. Tom instinctually slapped Moody's hand away and glared at him. His eyes unintentionally filled with a new wild hatred. Tom knew it wasn’t his fault, yet the sight of her in this state always made his emotions flare a bit.

"Her mind is very fragile. It can't handle large amounts of information it has already tried to erase," Tom remarked, glaring over at Moody. What he really wanted to say to him was being bottled up and Tom was trying to calm himself down. "For this reason, I believe what you say."

"And exactly, who are you?" Moody asked, squinting his hazel eye. His blue eye was too busy surveying Tom up and down.

"You don't need worry. I'm not a muggle." he answered, picking up Frankie into his arms like a natural prince charming would do. Too bad she wasn't awake to witness a real one, unlike her cow of a boyfriend. Not even giving Moody the chance to answer once again before starting to waltz off. "We'll be leaving now."

Frankie woke up in her small orphanage room hours later. _It was just a dream. A bad dream._ But no matter how many time she told herself that, the less likely it seemed. She could still feel the weight of the documents and the photos in her pocket. It was real alright. Tom had pulled up her desk chair next to her bed and was waiting, diligently, for her to wake up.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. What happened?" she replied, sitting up on her bed. Tom stared at her amazed. Had she really forgotten everything?

"Nothing really out of the usual," Tom lied. What _didn't_ happen was more of the question. It all seemed so unreal. If she didn't remember, _good_. Let's keep it that way.

"I meant _after_ I passed out." she remarked, catching him in such a bold faced lie. It was rather rare for him to get caught. The whole point of lying was obviously not to get caught. Even though most of the times she never caught him, she had still caught him more times than anyone.

"I told him to leave and carried you back here." he answered, simply, trying not to be embarrassed she had caught him in such a blatant lie when she was still in such a weak state.

"I could've met her, Tom." Frankie buried her head into her knees. "The day I went to the ministry. I saw her. She saw me and knew exactly who I was and I just looked right through her."

"Maybe it was for the best you didn't meet her first. You'd be crying a lot more if you had," Tom reasoned, knowing exactly that she was trying her best not to sob into her knees. She lifted her head up, only a few small tears remained on her cheeks.

"Why are you always right?" Frankie asked, cracking the smallest smile she had.

"It's a special talent." Tom answered, wittily.

"I suppose it won't do any good crying about it. I'm just frustrated. I mean, what else can I not remember?" she remarked, punching herself lightly in the head as if doing so would get back her memories.

"Hopefully, that's it. There’s nothing more."

"Yes.” She was staring off into space for a moment, but then suddenly a small light bulb appeared above her head. "Will you meet me in the backyard at midnight? There's something I want to show you!"

"Of course." Tom replied, holding back his excitement.

He couldn't help but wonder what she would want to show him and at midnight of all hours. Tom sat at his desk trying to focus on his summer homework, but he was too eager for the hour to approach. Luckily, a distraction came flying at the window. Tom let the owl in and took the letter. He ripped it open to find a shiny badge along with a letter. There was no need to read the letter. He already knew what it was. The shiny golden letters on the badge read, _Head Boy_. It wasn't like he truly cared about becoming Head Boy. It was just another honor, another trophy to be bestowed upon him. It seemed like he had stared down at it the rest of the day, until with a click of the door knob his room popped open. She looked rather different from earlier, or at least her shadow seemed different. Was she wearing different clothes, or something? His desk lamp didn’t illuminate that far, she was too far away to see her properly. She held something large in her in arms.

"Come on!" Frankie whispered. The two walked down the dark deserted hallway, down they creaky stairs, and out the back door. It was pitch black dark, besides for the starlight and the light of the moon. They walked out onto the cool, crisp grass. She set the large object down on the ground and whispered, _"Lumos!"_

The jar glowed with a blinding light but Frankie merely dumped the glittering contents into the air and it began to take its real shaped. What was once a blob of light had separated into little blobs and when you looked at them carefully were tiny little stars. There were thousands of little stars that filled the air so close you could touch any of them with ease. Tom could actually see Frankie clearly now. She stood amidst the fake-starlight she had created. A white frilled shirt hugged her small shoulders, a dark blue ruffle skirt with little orange-pink dots fitted around her waist, and a small pink bow in her hair matching the ones on her sandals. It was a newer outfit most likely given to her by the Gryffindor girls that she’d been saving for a special moment. There was a small shiny badge on her chest that seemingly matched his, gleaming in the bright light. _Head Girl_.

"Is that your mothers?" he asked, even though he knew very well it wasn't.

"Nope. This one is mine," she answered, with a smile. "Did you get yours too?"

"Yes." Tom replied, retrieving the badge from his pocket and holding it out to show her. Suddenly, in this moment, it was something so worth having. The light seemed to make it shine brighter than ever, "What is this magic?"

"I just folded some of that floating paper into little stars, said the spell, and here they are. It really wasn't that complicated." Frankie explained, gazing up proudly at her creations. It reminded Tom of her younger magic, before they had wands and spells. It was harmless, but wonderful.

"How long did it take you to make all of these?" Tom asked, looking up as well. There had to be thousands of them. Surely, she couldn't have made all these in a few hours.

"I've been making them since my first year," she answered, with a sort falter in her smile. "I make them when I'm troubled or stressed."

"I'm sorry." Tom muttered, looking back down. A lot of them were probably because of his actions. It seemed like he was always hurting her nowadays.

"What are you apologizing for? It feels good to let them all out. It’s just what I need after a day like today," Frankie replied, catching a star in her palms and then releasing it again. "Is Moody coming back?"

"I think he might." he answered, uneasily. The idea of Moody coming back didn't seem like such a good idea. Her mind probably couldn't take much more. One more shock like that and it would surely shatter for good.

"Will you go with me to meet him then?” Frankie laid down on the ground, looked up, and basked in the glory of her creations. She acted like she was alright but Tom had a feeling she just wasn't over it quite yet.

"Why go and meet with him again?" he asked, in retaliation. The panic was growing in him a little. She actually wanted to go back to that man.

"I have a feeling this is hurting him a lot more than it is me," she reasoned. Frankie propped herself up for a moment and looked into his eyes. "Please, go with me?"

"Fine. I'll go." Tom sighed, lying down beside her. He wasn't exactly sure what she meant, but if she was sure about meeting him again he wasn't going to hold her back.

The two waited in front of Frankie's old house the next morning. Luckily, waking up before Mrs. Cole could scold them for falling asleep outside. So far, Moody had not showed up, but the day was still young. He was bound to come eventually…

"Maybe he saw how upset you got yesterday and thought it would be better not to see you again." Tom reasoned, trying to pull her back to her senses.

"He'll come back. I'm sure of it." Frankie stated, although part of her voice still sounded a bit unsure.

Surely enough, as she said that, Moody was heading for them as if right on queue. He noticed them and started walking a little faster, like he thought they were going to run away. After what happened yesterday, Frankie wouldn't blame him.

"You’re here." Moody huffed, out-of-breath, as he slowed down in front of them. He realized Tom standing next to her and glared. It only to one glare from a guy like Tom to make you stop trusting him.

"I just have a couple more things I want to know."

"No problem." he muttered, breaking out of his hateful glare battle with Tom. Frankie hadn't noticed the glares because her focus was on the silver hip-flask once again.

"Is that flask my dad's?" Frankie asked, replacing her original question out of distraction.

"Diana left it to me before she died." he replied, adjusting the flask a bit.

"To be honest I thought you were my dad at first…"

"But he's—"

"I know he's dead," Frankie interrupted, sounding a little disappointed. "I of all people should know that."

"Why do you have _that_?" Tom inquired, suddenly pointing at Moody's eye with a disgusted expression.

"Diana gave it to me…" Moody answered, covering it with his hand from the judgmental pointing.

"She gave you her _eye_?" Tom remarked, in the same disgusted tone. Frankie shot him a ‘don't-go-there’ kind of look and he stepped out of the conversation once again.

"It was some sort of spell. I'm sure she only did it because she knew mine was damaged beyond repair.”

"How could she have known that?"

"Well, apart from the fact my eyeball was practically gone, your sister also had something known as 'All Seeing Eyes'. Meaning—well—she could see everything, even people who are invisible. It's a rare ability in the magical world," Moody explained, slowly, as if they were preschoolers instead of seventeen year olds. "She obviously wasn’t going to need her eyes, since she was missing most of her ligaments. So, I have it to now—or—at least half of it now."

“Missing her what—?”

"How did she get it?" Frankie asked, shooting across Tom’s disgust once again. She didn’t want him to repeat it or address it.

"She was born with it. It runs in the blood, usually. I'm surprised you don't have it." he remarked, with an empty sort of chuckle. He was trying to remain cheery, but it was hard under the circumstances of the visit. "Speaking of which, Albus told me you made Head Girl. Just like your mum."

"You know Dumbledore?" she inquired, sounding dumbstruck. However, soon afterwards, she realized that it was a pretty dumb question.

"Who doesn't know Dumbledore?" Moody stated, in retaliation. He cracked a genuine toothy smile.

"You’re right. Sorry, it was a dumb question—um— yes. I made Head Girl like my mum. I'm sure my sister did too, right?" Frankie rambled, nervously.

"No, actually. Diana wasn't exactly the smartest in the bunch. She had more of your dad's genes and made Quidditch Captain. The first girl to make captain, in fact," Moody replied, finally showing some genuine cheerfulness. A small light bulb seemed to go off in his head and he started rummaging in his pocket for something. "Speaking of which—I think I have—ah, here it is!"

Moody had pulled out a glittering badge from his pocket. Although a bit different from her fathers it was none the less a captain’s badge. He placed it in her palm. At least her father's badge wouldn't be as lonely anymore.

"Thanks. There's just one more thing I want to know before we'll be on are way," she said, in a tone of finality. She had gotten everything else she needed out of this conversation and she felt like Alastor Moody had too. It was lighter and not as much of a panic-attack inducing, horror, like yesterday. However, there was one more question she just had to ask, despite the fact that the answer could cause her to react even more negatively than she had yesterday, "Did _he_ get away?"

"No. I made sure of that. You can rest a bit easier knowing that he's finally dead.”

"Thank you, Alastor." Frankie smiled, letting out a huge sigh of relief. It was an understatement of how grateful she was. She didn’t know what else to say to the man she hardly knew, but had managed to destroy the wizard had ruined her life. After all this pain, it was finally over.

"Yeah, I'll see you…kid." he smirked, teasingly.

"I'm not a kid!" Frankie yelled, angrily, like she had done on their first meeting. Only she was seventeen now, officially not a kid this time. He merely waved back as he crossed the street and with one passing car he was gone. Leaving the two alone in front of the ruined house.

"Are you okay?" Tom asked, for what seemed like the millionth time. He felt he no longer had the right to properly comfort her in any other manor. Hold her in anyway and tell her that she was alright, like he would’ve done before. Even when he did, it always had the same answer. No. Nothing had really changed by speaking to Alastor Moody for a second time. Her entire family was still dead. Although, she seemed more at peace after last night, as if there really were no more secrets. Her mind was free and empty.

"For once… _yes_."


	45. Let's Get the Hell Out of Here

After the whole incident with Alastor Moody and Diana Dickson, Frankie and Tom were soon hit with the sudden realization that their summer was ending. In just a few weeks, they would be starting their seventh and final year at Hogwarts and leaving the orphanage for good. It was a sad, melancholic feeling, yet also filled them with so much joy that they just wanted to jump up and down. Especially Tom. After seventeen years, of waiting in agony he finally was going to be free of this wretched place. There would be no more sniveling little kids and no more Mrs. Cole. Just the better life of a wizard that he always felt that he deserved.

"Come on already!" Tom yelled, from the bottom of the stairs. He was waiting with little patience, resting his elbow on the end of the handrail to lazily keep his head propped up. It was their last trip to Diagon Alley for their school things and, like usual, Frankie was making them run late.

"Hold your horses! I'm coming." Frankie exclaimed, running down the stairs, skipping over every other step. Thankfully, to much of Tom’s worry, she reached the bottom safely from the hasty way she sped down them. She never had been very good with stairs, especially the moving ones at Hogwarts. Tom remembered always watching as Rodger Day gave her piggybacks to breakfast in the mornings in their younger years.

"Are you two leaving now?" Mrs. Cole asked, hopefully. She secretly prayed that every time they went out they would not be coming back, getting them off her back early. Unfortunately, for all parties, they all were forced to wait until September 1st.

"Oh yes, but don't worry. We'll be coming back soon." Tom laughed, as they started walking towards the door. Mrs. Cole slithered away in disappointment muttering something foul under her breath. That was the cue to leave. They walked out the chipping wooden door, down the old stone steps, and out on to the muggle-crowded streets of destruction and debris.

“Out of all the places to hit, out of all the millions of buildings in this city, why do the Germans never hit this one?”

“Oh, Tom. Don’t be so cruel.” Frankie scolded, nearly dodging an incoming person who refused to step out of the way. She was mindlessly twirling the locket in her hand. "I'm going to miss these trips to Diagon Alley. Flourish and Blotts, Ollivanders, all the usual shops. Do you remember the first time we went?"

"Yes. It all seemed so much to take in at the time. The fact that we were wizards and there was a whole other world beyond this one..." Tom answered, actually reminiscing of the first time. A sunlit girl spun him round-and-round in his memories. He’d finally entered the world where he was always meant to be. He was no longer a freak or an outcast.

They hesitated at the entrance of the dingy, old pub, as if they went in they wouldn't be coming out ever again. However, the Leaky Cauldron owner, the other Tom, waved through the window gesturing for them to come inside. The two shuffled into the pub, preceding as if they hadn't just frozen like stone statues at the sight of the place.

"Well, look who's here! Is it school time shopping already? Which time is it now?"

"It's the seventh." Tom answered, reluctantly.

"How time flies! It seems like only yesterday you two were hiding from me behind Albus." he chuckled, heartily.

"Yes. Well, we have a lot of shopping to do, so if you will excuse us." Tom stated, dismissively, shuffling Frankie towards the back alley with him. He didn't stop walking, until they reached the brick that concealed Diagon Alley. Frankie remained silent, but the look on her face said, _"I don't want to go."_

_I don't want it all to end…_

The year had not even started and he already could tell that she was thinking about the end of it all. Tom tapped the bricks and they revealed the crowded alleyway full of fellow witches and wizards. He started walk into the crowd, until he noticed Frankie wasn't following.

"Come on already. I'm going to leave you behind, if you don't hurry up," Tom threatened. He noticed her expression and softened up a bit. It was his job to keep her from crying and the only way to do that was keep on acting normal. "We still have time, you know? Might as well make it last."

"You’re right." Frankie replied, cracking a small smile. She joined him out in the jagged pavement and the two walked with lists in hand throughout the street, searching for their destinations. Her natural warm aura soon returned to her as they went from place to place. They walked into many shops that were not even necessary, just to make the trip last longer. Frankie spent some time talking to a parrot at the pet shop, while Tom un-seriously looked at owl replacements for Twilit. They spent about an hour talking to Ollivander about the uses of Unicorn hair. Apparently wands that were similar to Frankie’s were great sellers. Although, he made it a point not to tell people he added extra ingredients to them, like Tom people were probably beginning to think he was crazy. He and Frankie also had a passionate discussion on how wands can talk, or something senseless like that. Tom had honestly zoned out by that point. They spent another hour talking about Frankie’s sister. In their first year, Ollivander had apparently stolen her wand with the intent to throw it off a staircase. As he was dangling it tauntingly over the edge, she punched him in the face and, the second he clenched into a ball on the ground, retrieved her wand to Jelly Legs jinx him. They had been friends ever since. Once they were finished talking to Ollivander, they naturally spent another ridiculous amount of time in Flourish and Blotts. Not like Tom was exactly pulling her away from Flourish and Blotts, though. He obviously liked it there too. Tom saw Frankie sitting on a stack of books, her face buried in one as well, and went to collect her yet another hour later. It was their last stop.

"It's time to leave—"

Frankie looked up from the book with huge tears swelled up in her eyes, yet they refused to run down her cheeks. It wasn't the thought of leaving. Well, not exactly the thought of leaving. The trip had been so much fun, which made the sadness she had tried so hard to cover up even worse than it had been before. She and Tom would no longer be able to have such carefree fun. The minute they arrived at school things would be different, the problems they had been able to suppress all summer would arise again. After that, they would go down their separate paths into the wizarding world. Would they ever meet again? It was the thought of leaving him…

It wasn't supposed to happen. The whole year she had convinced herself she could not return his feelings and that they were merely friends and nothing more. However, it shouldn’t have ever been something she had to suppress. No one else had ever cared for her and stood by her through everything else. A boy who apparently didn’t like anything, liked her, and if the thought of not being able to have these moments with him made her feel like this. The reason to her tears was quite clear. Her face started turning red beneath the now running tears. Tom stood with a confused and worried look.

"What's wrong now?" Tom sighed, sounding exasperated, yet still managing to look somewhat concerned. He extended a helping hand, but she refused to take it. Of course, there's something wrong. She was just realizing she was in love with him, and _only_ him, and they both were with someone else. “Come on along, idiot. I know where we have to go next.”

He finally managed to remove her from the stacks in Flourish and Blotts and pull her through the crowd of people. They walked until they reached the clearing. It’d been seven years since they’d gone this far in. There was the same sort of miniature park area with the same man was selling moving photographs. Suddenly, it felt like they had gone back to first year again.

“One photo, please.” Tom remarked, dragging her along like she had done to him seven years ago today. He had figured the only way to get her away from the end was taking her back to the beginning.

“Sure, stand over there,” the man said, pointing to the open space in front of the camera. “Hang on, haven’t I seen you two before?”

“It’s quite possible. Only one way to find out,” Tom replied, suddenly turning towards a confused Frankie, “Dance with me.”

“Tom, I can’t—”

“I didn’t want to the first time, but now I’m asking you to dance with me,” he reasoned. Tom put on that irresistibly charming smile he normally only used on girls who didn’t matter. He had a feeling it’d work on her in her current state, “Please tell me that you’ll accept.”

She stayed in a conflicted silence. Her brain was telling her it was a bad idea, but her heart seemed to leap up at the opportunity.

“Don’t be such a stick in the mud.” Tom added. She had said that exactly to him when he first refused to dance with her here. Tom could use the nostalgia to sway her into doing this. This was their last magical moment, before the drama of school kicked in. He would need to remember it, if he ever hoped to survive another year of her and Quin and what was probably going to be a lifetime without her.

“Okay.” she grinned, unable to deny his request any longer. He pulled her close with a sudden brim of confidence and started to sway her around. She got locked in his gaze, trying not to look down at her feet and step on his. However, after a moment it felt like she had no feet at all. How did he ever get so good at this? She could only wish this last real moment with him would last forever. Frankie would eventually be forced to let him go again. However, in this moment, he belonged only to her. Not Leri’s, but her.

“Now I remember. The couple I gave away my locket too,” the photo man exclaimed, amidst their dancing. He’d probably seen it swinging around her neck. Tom stopped them to address the man, while Frankie continued to gaze up at him, probably awaiting his response to once again being mistaken for a couple. “Glad to see you two are still together after all these years.”

“Actually, we’re still just friends, sir,” Tom replied. It made Frankie newly realized feelings a cold sting, even though it was true. He had Leri and his feelings for her were long gone after her months of rejection. She thought herself lucky enough he even considered her a friend anymore after the way she treated him, “and I wouldn’t have it any other way…”

Frankie was pushed back into silence once they received the photos and were headed back for the Leaky Cauldron. It was finally time to leave Diagon Alley. Probably not forever, like it felt, but they’d never get to shop here for their school supplies here together again.

Trunks were soon packed with the new items and in a weeks’ time they stood in the foyer ready to go for the last time. Mrs. Cole stood tall, well as tall as she could be, with a broad smile plastered on her face. Finally, they were leaving and this time they wouldn't be coming back. The little kids surrounded Frankie clinging to her waist giving her farewell cards, while Tom stood off to the side angrily staring down at his pocket watch. She was going to make them late. There was only one kid dared to stand next to Tom in amidst of all the goodbyes. The little boy from last summer smiled up at him and, surprisingly, Tom smiled back.

"Take care, kid,” Tom remarked, tussling the boy's hair a little. "You're the boss around here now, you got that?"

"Yes, sir!" he answered, giving Tom a soldier’s salute. Mrs. Cole clapped her hands and all the children dispersed from Frankie and Tom back over to her.

"Well—go on then!" she remarked, making a shuffling motion with her hands. It was an expected reaction out of her.

"Goodbye, Mrs. Cole," they both answered at once, in matching tones of mockery. The two gave knowing looks. The only good and satisfying exit was to piss her off as much possible. If she thought them just a couple of brats after all this time, that’s exactly what they would be. They summoned all the sarcasm they could possibly muster, "We love you."

That had done it. Their last glimpse of Mrs. Cole her face contorted in anger jumping around madly. Was it from their clearly contemptuous comment? Or was it the fact that the new boss had purposely just stomped on her foot with all his might? They would never know for sure.

It was a morning like any other in King’s Cross station, except for the fact along with the thousands of people there were many witches and wizards walking amongst them. Tom and Frankie were two of those many. The sound of wheeling carts with trunks with cats and owls could barely be heard above the roar of conversation, but none the less inspired the penetrating stares of muggles. Tom was dressed in wizard robes, waltzing through the station as if nothing was wrong, yet looks were being thrown at him from every direction. Including the one standing directly next to him.

"Is there something you wish to discuss?" Tom asked, suddenly turning towards Frankie. He examined her hazel eyes, making her look away.

"Um—no—come on, let's just get on the train." Frankie stammered, quickly, before beginning to run ahead. She had been acting rather odd ever since they got back from Diagon Alley last week. Sometimes she was quiet and other times she was brimming with a faux happiness that Tom could tell was not real. There was something wrong with her.

Frankie was running faster and faster. He could not catch up even though he was actually trying, for once. It felt as though she were actually running from him, something she was very skilled at doing. She did not even stop at the barrier, she jetted right through it like it wasn't even there. In a desperate attempt to catch up to her, Tom had run through it too. It was the first time he had done so without any hesitation. Frankie stood in the middle of the crowd of parents shuffling their kids onto the train, muttering something to herself. He put his hand on her shoulder and she jumped up in surprise.

"Are you going to tell me what the hell is wrong with you?" he asked, angrily. Tom was obviously fed up with her strange attitude. 

"What are you talking about, Tom?" she replied, in a monotone voice. It appeared to be a normal voice, despite how it sounded, but something told Tom it wasn't. It was the same tone she had been using with him all week. "I just got to excited, that’s all. Come on, let's get going!"

Everything was ‘normal’ with her again. Her warm and cheery aura had apparently returned. She held her normal smile and all her oddness had mysteriously gone. They settled into a compartment and waited for the train to depart, like always. Both staring out at all the parents waving like mad at their kids as they began to slowly drift away.

"Do you ever wish your parents stood out there?" Frankie asked, her eyes still fixed on the glass. It was hard to imagine, but Tom could actually see it. His parents, standing not too far from hers, were waving softly with proud expressions. Tom's father wasn't so cruel and his mother wasn't so defeated, both were happily standing hand-in-hand. As the train departed and he and Frankie disappeared, both of their parents would start chatting about any old thing that was going on in their lives. Tom liked to imagine they were all rather good friends. However, as the real train took off the vision disappeared with it. Not his parents, nor hers, would ever stand there.

"Not really. They weren't really those kind people. If they had been, they would’ve been out there and I wouldn’t have just spent seventeen years of my life stuck in an orphanage." he answered, despite having just imagined them standing on the platform as she said it. It was just a silly fantasy though. Rationally thinking, if his parents actually stood out there, his father would be glaring, disgusted by all the magic and his mother would hanging her head down, saying nothing as much as a simple goodbye.

"How would you know what kind of people they were?"

"Let's just say that I've learned quite a bit about my past over the years. They don’t even need to be alive for me to know who they were anymore,” Tom replied, vaguely. He couldn’t exactly say he knew his father was a total prat because he’d actually met him and, from what his uncle and Mrs. Alwena had told him, his mother was not the most confident of women. “Of course, it hasn't been as satisfying as your findings, Ms. Gryffindor"

"I disagree, Mr. Slytherin,” Frankie smiled, doing her best impression of a regal accent. The voice made Tom crack a small smile, it was humorously awful. “Oh I’m sorry, how terribly rude of me. I mean the Heir of Slytherin. A thousand apologies, my lord.”

She had gotten Tom to actually laugh a bit, which was a rare thing indeed unless someone was in pain. Although, sometimes his lackeys and other Slytherin did in fact refer to him as a dark lord, this was Frankie. She wasn’t serious. Suddenly, the compartment burst open without a knock and a slightly irritated Leri stood poised in the doorway.

“The other Gryffindors are five compartments down the corridor. You should go join them, _Ms. Gryffindor_.” she added, pointing to her right.

“Tom and I always sit together, though. Please Leri—”

“Just go.”

Surprisingly, it hadn’t been Leri who cut her off, it was Tom. And he wasn’t talking to Leri, either. His stern voice was talking to her, “You can go sit with Quin. I’m sure he’s been saving you a seat along with a bag of those atrocious jelly beans, anyway.”

“You heard him…”

Frankie barely kept her already fake smile, as she carefully closed the compartment door and began to briskly walk down the train corridor. She was trying her best to hold it in, but she could feel the tears forming in her eyes. Her pace quickened as she tried to see with eyes unclouded. Strangely, three compartments down was empty. Frankie yanked the door open, pulled the blinds and sank into a seat inside, finally letting the tears flow down her face. Her cheeriness had been abnormal, in fact, it was magical. A spell she had placed on herself that had yet again been broken by Tom.

"What's wrong?"

Frankie looked up through the blurry tears still clinging to her eyes to see yet another blonde figure standing in the door of her compartment. Luckily, it wasn't anyone other than Dylan.

"I’m an idiot. I’m such an idiot…" Frankie cried, into her friend's shoulder. There was no point denying it anymore. Who exactly was she trying to fool? She began to tell Dylan everything. It turned out to be more of a sad life story then the reason she loved him, but to truly understand it had to be told from the very beginning, "I made a mistake, Dylan, and now it's too late. He's with _her_ _._ "

"You brought this upon yourself you know. You really are denser than dirt," she stated, unsympathetically. Frankie saw it coming. She really was an idiot for not realizing Tom had been in love with her for a very long time. "But, if I know Tom, his feelings haven’t changed. He’s sacrificing his own feelings because more than anything he just wants you to be happy.”

Frankie cracked a small smile and wiped away a few of the tears. A sudden click of the opening door and another person walked in. Quin stood in the doorway, his neck tie loosely around neck and his sleeves rolled up, holding a bag of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans. Frankie's stomach instantly felt as though it had been twisted into an extremely tight knot and then hurtled out her. Why did he have to show up now? His concerned expression made it all the worse.

"Did something happen? Are you alright?" he asked, frantically. She could tell how worried he was about her. He had set the Bertie Botts onto her lap and put a hand supportively on her shoulder. It made her want to burst into tears all over again.

"I'm fine." Frankie answered, just barely managing to put up a strong front. Although, what she truly wanted to say was, _"I'm sorry"_ _._ She held back. She wasn't ready. Not yet. "Thank you."

"But—"

"Urgh, you boys need to take a hint and know when you're not wanted or needed," Dylan shouted, shoving him out of the compartment. “We should just forget the lot of them. None of them are any good...”

Once he was forced out, everything had turned around and all the unhappy thoughts of the two were drained from Frankie’s mind. After the much needed venting, Dylan and Frankie eventually were able to switch to much lighter conversation topics, eating the bag of Bertie Botts together. Maybe Dylan was right, stepping away and saying goodbye to both of them might be for the best. It wasn’t worth the miserable heartache.

The train eventually arrived and they casually slipped in with the rest of the seventh year Gryffindors in the wait for the Thestral drawn carriages. As they all piled in, chattering amongst themselves, Frankie couldn’t help but stare at the Slytherins as they slowly drove off. Tom naturally noticed her gaze, immediately. However, the second their eyes met, he turned away. The problems they had been suppressing all summer hadn’t even taken a day to resurface. Frankie sighed and fixed her gaze on the castle. Their seventh year was supposed to be a fun one. However, considering the state of things, it couldn’t possibly get any worse from this point. Hopefully, the school year had nowhere to go but up from here. Keep on smiling, keep forgetting, that’s how she planned to get through this year in one piece. Then, once it’s all over, she and Tom will go their separate ways and live out their lives on different paths, like it was always truly meant to be.


	46. Not Just Any Cliché Masquerade

Things didn’t really get any better with the start of the new school year. The Gryffindors were only doubled with the Slytherin for Potions and Transfiguration this year, which was only a total of seeing each other for about two hours a day. While that  fact made the rest of the their two houses want to cheer, it made Frankie and Tom’s relationship become strained once more. They would still go on Sunday walks and talk to each other in class, but that was pretty much the extent of their interaction. He stayed beside Leri and she stayed beside Quin because that was the way it must be done. As much as Frankie wanted for that to change, as much as she just wanted to tell him she really was an idiot for lying to him and saying she didn’t love him, something else was making her hold onto Quin. He was kind and really did make her happy. However, it just wasn’t the same feeling as when she was with Tom.

_"You're completely hopeless, you know that?"_

It was a typical October morning in Potions class and just like the six years before, Slughorn had his star group presently working on an assignment. He always said they were a good group, his best group ever, but he couldn't have been more wrong. The amount of drama contained within this single group would make the front page of a gossip rag, if the school actually had one. Generally, nowadays, they were a little bit better, if you compared it to how they’d acted in the past. You would think Tom and Quin still would go at each other's throats more than ever, with the recent development. However, the amount of insults had actually gone down quite a bit, which made Frankie slightly worry.

Tom was once again teasing. However, he was not teasing who you’d be expecting him to tease. Normally, Tom be talking to his mortal enemy and wouldn’t have said it with such a loving, not very serious, tone. However, this morning, he was talking to the girl sitting beside him. Frankie was spacing out and had just noticed she over-stirred the potion they were working on and it had gone black.

"It’s not supposed to look like that, ya’ know." Quin stated, for a matter-of-fact. They were making a Strengthening Potion, which surprisingly was supposed to look like piss and not black death.

"Oh, come on. It's not like you’ve never made a mistake, either." Frankie retorted. Acting as everything was normal even though on the inside it felt like she was torn into thousands of little pieces, was surprisingly more difficult than she thought it’d be. Sometimes she spaced out thinking about all her problems, making her seem even more foolish and idiotic. She waved her wand and the cauldron emptied. They would have to start over because of her and they didn’t have much time left. She quickly started re-grabbing all the ingredients they would need.

"Yes, but I'm not the Head Girl."

"Just because I'm Head Girl doesn't mean I have to be perfect."

She groaned while she frantically tried to crush the Lionfish Spines for the new potion. Noticing her stressed expression, Quin took the molcajete and grinder from her. Frankie wanted to protest, but he saw it coming, “Team effort.”

He was always trying to prove that he belonged in this group, despite not being of his best subjects. Rather than argue more, Frankie started pouring in the Salamander Blood, Moondew, and the essence of Wormwood. Tom crushed four more Sopophorous beans, while Quin added the crushed up spines and she began stirring again. “I'm just having an off day. That's all."

"Give it here. I can do it this time." Tom stated, as he tried to take the stirrer from here. He had gotten closer, slightly hunched over her, poised ready to take it right out of her hands.

"It's alright, Tom. I got it." Frankie mumbled, managing to dodge him while keeping her consistent stirring pace. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down. He’d gotten to close for comfort.

"Hurry it up. Slughorn is going to be here any minute." Quin added, hastily looking over his shoulder.

"Just need to add the blossom..." she replied, carefully placing the violet colored flower into the mixture.

"Ah, how's my star group?" Slughorn inquired, finally arriving at their table.

"Perfect!" However, Frankie’s attention had been on the potion, not Slughorn. This group was anything but perfect, despite being his best group.

"Well, let's just have a look, shall we?"

Slughorn unexpectedly ladled some of their potion out and took a sip of it. He only would've done something like this with their group, trusting their skills completely. Although the three would always get mini heart attacks and a terrible feeling that they would screw it up and send their teacher to the hospital wing. It just made them work all the harder to get it right and remain on top. Suddenly, he walked over to his desk and hoisted it up into the air, with one hand.

"Tis, perfect! I'd say one vile and I'd be able to pick up a fully-grown dragon," he laughed, setting his desk back down on the floor. Frankie flashed a superior, “I-told-you” kind of look at the boys, before turning back Slughorn. "Now, while I have all your attention, I have an announcement."

A hushed whisper spread through the crowd of seventh year students, especially the girls, already expecting the news to be something grand. All were trying to lean in to whisper without getting the ends of their hair burned off from the small flame beneath their cauldrons. Slughorn waited until the talking subsided, before he continued to speak again.

"For Halloween this year, the school was thinking about doing things a little differently. Instead of one giant feast, I had the brilliant idea of having a masquerade ball." Slughorn explained. The whispers returned even fiercer now that they knew what to whisper about. A ball. There was going to be an actual proper ball at Hogwarts, that wasn’t the celebration of people dying in a mad tournament for eternal glory. This time Slughorn just let them be, knowing that they wouldn’t be silenced this time and continued checking the last few group's progress.

"Why? Masquerades are so pointless. Everyone will be able to tell each other apart even with masks on." Tom remarked, pulling out a book from his bag and flipping to a marked page. It was unknown if he was actually speaking to someone or if he was merely thinking out loud.

"I suppose that's true with in the _muggle_ world.” Quin reasoned.

"Meaning?" Tom inquired, actually looking up from his book to address him. He looked intrigued by what Quin had to say. Perhaps, he would surprise him and say something that wasn’t idiotic for once.

"I don't know for sure, but it probably has something to do with the masks,” Quin explained, seeming a little more knowledgeable about something for once. Although, the thing that Frankie couldn't believe was the fact that they were actually talking. A normal conversation. No fighting, no insults. It was short of a miracle. “Once someone puts one on, it'll do something to make them absolutely unrecognizable.”

They began swapping ideas about what the masks would be infused with. It would possibly be something along the lines of Stinging Jinxes or Anteoculatia Hexes. Along with the ideas came the realizations that they wouldn’t be who they were now, they’d be someone new. The three didn’t talk about what they would be doing with their night as a changed person. They each had ulterior motives for becoming someone else, even if it was just for one night.

"It's way too risky."

Dylan was speaking to Frankie in whispers, as they walked up to the common room after classes that day. Frankie had just proposed her nearly impossible plan for Halloween night and the masquerade ball. She planned on finding Tom, so they could have one last night together and she could tell him how she really felt, even though he probably no longer felt the same way.

“I think I'll be able to tell who he is. I've known him for—I mean—I’ve known him a long time." She was about to say she had known him forever, like she usually did, but had almost forgotten that it wasn't really true. They had met only once when they were six and did not meet again until they were eight. She had only really known Tom for about nine years. It just felt like it was so much longer.

"I bet you won't be able to even tell who I am," Dylan snapped, a little harshly. "I’m not saying you can't do it. I'm just saying be careful about it."

Halloween night soon arrived with a mask lying on everyone's beds like little curses, or blessings, in disguise. With shuddering anticipation the Gryffindor girls placed the mask upon their faces, wondering what they would become. However, Frankie hesitated. She stared down at the silvery jeweled mask lying on her bed, internally debating with herself. Was she doing the right thing? Then, suddenly the choice was not hers.

The mask seemed to attack her and mold to her face like clay. She felt nothing. Her hair didn’t seem shorter and she didn’t feel like she had grown or shrunk at all. Had Quin’s theory been wrong? However, it was apparent by the room of strangers everyone else’s appearances were drastically altered. Dylan had grown a few inches taller and was now sporting a short, wispy, black bob, while Bina had grown long auburn hair and shot down to the size of a fourth year. Sarah and Katy had gotten lucky, keeping their relative heights and features, but there was something else making them the most unfortunate of them all. Sarah had small cat ears peeking out of her sunny blonde hair while Katy had dog ears. Little black noses were daring to sneak out the bottom of their masks.

Frankie was unaware of her appearance cause everyone was so busy fretting on their on own to notice her standing over by her bed. She walked over to the mirror to check how much she had changed. However, she could already tell by the stares she got on the way there that she was probably the most warped. She had large antlers between her new buttery golden locks. Her hazel eyes had turned electric blue, like her sisters. In fact she looked exactly like her sister now that she thought about it. Minus the antlers, of course. She twirled around in her silvery white dress at her reflection, flabbergasted.

"Is this me?" Frankie exclaimed, twirling around in front of the mirror.

"Of course, it is. You look beautiful." the girl who was supposed to be Dylan smiled, cheerfully.

"I liked how I looked before. To be honest I don't think I can pull off the whole blonde look like you can. No offense to blondes, it's just not me." she sighed, gliding back over to where she previously stood. It hurt to look at herself further, after the initial glance. All she saw was the desperate girl staring at her through the bars of a closed elevator gate.

"None taken. Although, I rather like this short hair. It seems like a whole lot easier to manage then my old lion mane," Dylan remarked, optimistically, fiddling with a lock of her dark hair. "It's only for one night. Try to have a little fun with it."

"It'd be just as much fun if we all looked like we do normal." Frankie sighed, once again. She was starting to see the flaws in her plan and being someone else was starting to look less appealing now when she thought about it seriously. Even if she somehow did manage to find Tom in all of this, she wouldn’t want to confess something so important with a face that was not hers.

"You aren't going to know anyone in that room and they're not going to know you. Why don’t you actually be someone else for one night and just let all this stuff with Tom disappear." Dylan added, knowing she’d much rather have fun dancing with her friends than going on a wild goose chase. Hopefully, Frankie would be able to take her advice. It was not something that would just go away without a fight. She could tell her heart to forget him for a while, but it’d still be searching for him either way.

Tom had the same idea as her. To find her and then they could finally have normal conversation again, that was not under the oppressive eyes of Leri or Quin. He couldn’t stand it anymore, even if Frankie didn’t feel the same way. The effect of having Leri constantly stuck onto him again had made him realize he truly detested other women’s touch and his feelings for Frankie which he was trying to suppress would not simply go away. Tom was once again supposed to let his feelings known, this time knowing that she was just going to reject them in the end. He didn’t know why. She wasn’t going to leave Quin and it would probably just cause her more strife. He just felt the need to assure her his feelings had not changed and Leri was a mistake. It was all a fine plan, assuming he could tell her apart from the others. It was just something that he'd have to figure out on the way. All the other Slytherins had already gone in their altered appearances. It was time.

The black mask lying on his bed reminded him somewhat of a crow. Hopefully, that was not what he'd become once he put it on. He felt nothing. Tom ran over to Malfoy’s mirror to look at his reflection. He was plagued with blonde hair and forest green eyes. The new appearance clearly didn't match his cold and malicious attitude. He was lucky only his hair color had changed and not the length, but he still hated it with all his might. The blonde color was similar to Malfoy's hair, which Tom had wanted to shave off ever since he had first seen it. At least, unlike Malfoy's, his didn't go all the way down to his elbows. There was nothing he could do to change it so without another thought he left.

Despite a bit of a struggle Frankie arrived in the Great Hall in her current appearance. A sea of strangers was already flooding into the large space, having meaningless conversations with the people beside them. Once you saw someone you thought you knew, looking how they normally do, you would notice some big difference making them not the person you thought they were. The Great Hall seemed so much larger without the house tables sitting on the cold stone floor. A full moon was covered by a cloudy night sky filled with floating candles and jack-o-lanterns. Frankie stood awkwardly off to the side to try and not draw any attention to herself, but it felt like the stares were endless. She was one of the few that had gotten an Anteoculatia Hex. A dance floor was created in the center of the room and people were already starting to dance with the music. Meanwhile, Frankie retreated to the sides and found the perfect patch of wall to sulk on.

"We match you and I."

Frankie jumped up, snapping out of her mindless staring at the mass of dancing bodies. She had been too distracted by the crowd of dancing people she had not noticed another girl saunter up beside her.

"Huh?" Frankie stammered, in confusion. What did she mean? Of course, the reason became apparent with the scan of the girl’s appearence. Her blonde hair was a lot shorter and straighter then Frankie's hair was and instead of antlers she had small deer ears that kept twitching every other second.

"See?" the girl laughed, tugging on the ears as if Frankie wasn't getting a good enough look at them. Frankie giggled a bit.

"You're lucky you didn't get stuck with these!" Frankie pouted, holding on to her antlers as if they were some sort of giant hat. The girl let out a small chuckle as well and smiled. "I swear some guy tried to use me as a coat rack a while ago."

"At least you didn't get _this_!" she exclaimed, in retaliation. The girl twirled around to reveal a deer stub tail poking through her ball gown. They stood as moment of silence passed by them. Where all that could be heard was the chatter of people above the music. Then suddenly they both burst into an uncontrollable laughter. The girl wiggled her butt making them both unable to breath with hysterics. Finally, after a few minutes of odd stares from the people around them the laughing subsided and they began talking. It was amazing how long you could go around with someone without learning their name. They walked around, talking about the surroundings, people watching and getting candy off the desserts table.

"Hey, how come I've never met you before? We get along great!" Frankie asked, finally, after what seemed like hours of talking to this girl. She was finally relaxing after coming here and it was all becoming fun. She actually forgot about her secret quest to find Tom in all of this.

"Oh, I'm sure we have. It just…"

"Right. I forgot…" Frankie sighed, suddenly realizing that neither of them looked like themselves. However, that didn’t mean they couldn’t tell each other their names and find each other when they changed back. She was about to introduce herself, when a dark-haired figure caught her eye. He was standing in a group of boys not looking to be having a whole lot of fun on the other side of the room. His bored expression was unmistakably…

"Tom…"

Frankie shifted her way through the crowd to where cohort of boys were standing, where Tom stood. It was him. It just had to be. The excitement was building up inside her as she reached him.

"Tom!" she shouted, hastily. But when she tapped his shoulder she realized her mistake. The boy that turned around had light blue eyes instead of the dark ones that always seemed to be trying to stare into her very soul.

"Oh, I'm s—"

"Looks like Leri is here. I bet she's looking for Tom." said a boy with a long curly red hair. Frankie was too flabbergasted to even speak. She recognized that arrogant tone as Lestrange’s. By the looks of things, or the sound of things in this case, she had just walked into a group of Slytherins and not just any Slytherins either. The seventh year boys.

"Yeah, to bad even we don't know what he looks like. He didn’t come back from the library till late and he left after us." a boy, who was most likely Avery, exclaimed.

"What?" She did a quick count and they were missing one body. It didn’t make sense. He had to be in this circle. Tom was their leader it only made sense for him to be standing somewhere in between them. He had to be there watching her, unknowingly, as the room grew smaller and smaller to her. A sudden tug of her arm pulled her out of the coterie of Slytherin boys.

"If you would excuse us for just a second," the fake Tom remarked, shuffling her away from the crowd. Frankie at this point had absolutely no idea what was going on anymore and just decided to not protest. They stopped, once they were at a safe enough distance, so that they wouldn't be heard by the other boys.

"You ought to be more careful, Frankie." he added, with a coy smile at knowing exactly who she was. Something in his voice sounded familiar, but it wasn't Tom familiar. Suddenly, she recognized it. It was usually a little high and squeaky, but tonight it was rather deep and had a sort of soothing tone.

"Peter?" she questioned, with a smidge of uncertainty.

"Surprise." Peter laughed, scratching the back of his head nervously. It really was him. Peter usually scratched the back of his head when he got nervous, which was quite frequently.

"Sorry, I mistook you for Tom. I’m kind of looking for him." Frankie added, suddenly feeling rather embarrassed by her actions.

"It's fine. You're not the first actually. I think I met the real Leri a while ago. If I was sure, I would've dumped her for him." he said, clenching his fist at the mere mention of Leri. Even though he was the one who mentioned her in the first place.

"Then I take it you're not too taken with their relationship either."

"I suppose it'd be a whole lot more annoying if he actually liked her. I mean she's such a—"

"Wait. What?" she said, with a tone of surprise.

"You can be so clueless sometimes, you know that?" Peter laughed. "Just tell him already. I'm sure he won't object."

"Thanks. I'm going to go keep trying to find him then." Frankie smiled, turning to leave.

"Wait. Before you go I have to ask, who was that girl you were talking to before?" he asked, eying the girl over at the place Frankie had stood talking to her. The girl was still there, looking rather lonely now that Frankie was gone.

"I actually don't know, but she's really nice. You should go talk to her." She was actually picking up on romance for once. For some reason, it was easy to see it in others just as long as it didn't involve her.

"I don't—I mean—I—"

“I didn’t know you actually liked blondes.”

“Well, she’s probably not actually blonde, is she?”

“Go talk to her.” Frankie shouted, as she started pushing him towards the spot. She might've also got a little help from the fact she had antlers. "No giving advice you can't take yourself, got that Vogel?"

"Alright, I'm going." Peter exclaimed, willingly walking away from the bucking antlered girl to the cute deer leaning against the near wall. Frankie watched as he scratched his head nervously and extended his free arm. The girl took it happily. She gave Frankie one last smile, before proceeding with him onto the dance floor.

Meanwhile, the real Tom was rather bored just leaning up against the same wall a little ways down. He had given up on finding Frankie. She couldn't be found in a crowd like this. She had probably passed his eye several times, but how would he know. Tom was reaching the peak of utter boredom. If he didn't do something to entertain himself soon, he'd probably end up doing something mad. Perhaps, he should get a lovely lady to entertain him. It was good to practice his lying on girls, that way he wouldn't slip up when it mattered. He might possibly even learn how to lie to himself.

A girl stood on the same wall just a few feet down. She had matching buttery blonde hair with blue eyes. The silver gown and antlers definitely made her stand out a lot more than some of the other girls. Unknown to her, many boys around her were staring at her appearance, including him. They were probably bucking up the courage to ask her to dance or convincing themselves they were out of their league. By the look on her face, she was also just as bored as he was. But unlike him she seemed to hold a sad air about her. She was the perfect target.

"Good evening, miss. You don't mind if I join you." Tom greeted, turning on his charm immediately as he walked up to her.

"Why, not at all. It's not like I own this wall." she answered, in a flat monotone voice.

"So, are you enjoying the ball?" Tom asked, a bit flustered his charm hadn't worked on her. It always worked. A line like that should’ve had her stricken and swooning already.

"Not really. I made a friend a little while ago and I don't even know her name."

"It's not like you won't ever be able to see her again. If you two got along so well I'm sure you'll meet her again someday."

"I suppose your right. I just hate to come here looking like this." she sighed, giving a small twirl of her silvery ball gown.

"I think you look beautiful." he replied, sounding as honest as he could possibly muster. She really was beautiful. It was just…she wasn't _her_.

"I'm sure everyone must think I look a lot more beautiful tonight. Normally, I just look…normal." the girl stated, continuing on her down kind of attitude.

"You're lying," Tom stated, confidently. The girl seemed a bit taken back by this comment. He had sounded so assure. "I can guarantee you look even more beautifully then you do right now."

"How can you say that? You don't even know what I look like." she huffed, angrily.

"Well, then I guess I'll just have to wait until your mask comes off to see if I’m wrong." he reasoned, taking up one of her hands.

"Don't you have someone else you would rather be spending your time with?" the girl asked, huffily. He really did want to spend his time with someone else. But she wasn't available, so might as well have a little fun at this boring soiree.

"To be honest…no." Tom answered, being anything other than honest.

"Fine, but only as friends." she dictated, firmly, pulling her hand out of his. Tom stood frozen for a moment. His charm wasn’t working at all. Was it his appearance? If this were Germany, he’d be considered a dream. It was true that his deviously handsome looks were replaced, but that couldn’t be all his manipulation was based off of.

"You have my word. _Just friends_." he replied, giving her a low bow. Tom wouldn't have wanted it any other way, or at least any other way on his end of the deal. He would get her pining over him one way or another, while he had no interest in talking to her ever again after tonight. And he wouldn’t ever have to, that is if she ever found out who he really was. If that was what you would call friendship then, yes. They would become best friends by the time he was through with her. "So, are you going to give me your name? I have to have something to call you by for the rest of the evening."

"Um—Diana." she answered, taking the first thing that could pop into her head. It seemed like a suitable name anyway. She did look like her sister. He looked at her skeptically, probably guessing that she was lying.

"A fake name? You're rather mysterious aren't you? Well then…"he laughed, charmingly. He gave a small pause to add suspense. "I am Lord Voldemort."

The name made her slightly giggle. It sounded like the name of an evil cartoon villain would have. However, something about it also gave her major chills. Realizing it was mean to laugh, she stopped immediately.

"I don't mean to be rude. It's just an odd name with an eerily familiar feeling." she said, struggling to save her blunder.

"I'm sure it'll become a rather famous name one day," Tom smiled, trying to not let the sting of her comment and laughter affect him. "You just wait and see."

"Well, I'll look out for it in the future then." Diana smiled, still feeling rather guilty for laughing at him.

"Uh—you wouldn't mind if I asked you to dance, right?" Tom asked, taking a small risk.

"Not romantically." she added, reassuring him that nothing was going to happen.

"Trust me. I'm not looking for that sort of thing here." he answered, actually being somewhat truthful for once. He took her by the hand and pulled her closer. The two danced among the others, trying not to so much as look each other. It wasn’t like dancing with Frankie, where he just couldn’t stop looking at her. However, the girl did step on his foot.

"When do you think the masks are coming off, my lord?" she asked, suddenly, in the midst of the silence.

"Surely, not all at once. It'll be different for every student." Tom said, with a bit of a genuine chuckle. "My lord" suddenly just sounded like such a silly thing to be called, despite the more than occasional use of it by some of his friends. Perhaps it was just the way she had said it.

"Does that mean I won't get to ever find who you are?" Diana asked, curiously.

"You don't want to know me really. I'm no one of any importance." Tom lied.

"Still doesn't the change the fact I'm just as curious to learn about you."

"Fine then. I'll show you something about me."

Suddenly, he was pulling her off the dance floor. They walked straight out of the castle amazingly, no one was even trying to stop them. The teachers were all to focused on chaperoning to realize they were escaping, ironically. Tom led her all the way past the Whomping Willow, through Ogg's garden, and all the way to the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

"Where do you think you're taking me?" she asked, refusing to take another step until he answered her.

"Don't worry there isn't actually werewolves, or things of that sort, in there." Tom assured her.

"It's not them I'm worried about." Diana countered, eying him suspiciously.

"Perhaps you're just scared of the forest itself? If you need support, I'll be happy to lend a shoulder—"

"Don't be ridiculous! I'm not scared. Let's go already!"

She stomped her way into the forest, before realizing she had absolutely no idea where she was going and had to wait for Tom to catch up. They walked deeper and deeper into the forest of sky-high trees, crushing small twigs with every single step they took. Suddenly, they stopped in a clearing and gazed into what to just looked like more uninhabited forest area.

"Can you see them?"

"Of course… and you?" she said, looking a bit shocked but not frightened.

"I wouldn't have brought you here if I couldn't." Tom affirmed. This was something he hadn’t even gotten to show Frankie. He had found where the herd of Hogwarts Thestrals rested. Although, given her friendship with the gamekeeper, odds were she already knew.

"So, you've seen death?" she asked, boldly.

"Both my parents and my grandparents,” he replied, simply. It was technically true, except for his mum. He probably saw it, but it's not like he could have possibly comprehended it as a newborn baby. He was hardly even alive yet. “What about you?"

"Just my mum and dad."

"I come out here quite often. They’re gentle creatures really it's just—"

"—people avoid them because of the whole death thing." she finished his sentence.

"You seem to know a little about them." Tom remarked, possibly sounding a bit impressed.

"I've read a lot about them. They’re such fascinating creatures…"

"You aren't like many. I only know on other person who really believes such a thing. Everyone else says their dangerous." he said, petting the snout as one walked up to him. "Would you like to fly one?"

"Fly one? Won't we get in trouble? We'd get caught for sure." she stammered, panicking.

"Getting caught is not something I do." Tom stated, confidently. He hoisted her up on the nearest ones back, before getting on himself. The Thestral flapped is large bat-like wings, creating small tornados on the ground; it started charging faster and faster, until finally rose high up into the dark moonlight sky. You could see everything from up there. Ogg's cabin, the lake, and especially the castle.

"I suggest holding onto me unless you want to fall." Tom warned, peering back at her.

"I like to feel like I'm flying though." she replied, spreading out her arms like wings.

"If you say so…"

Suddenly the Thestral started diving. She let out a small scream and clutched on to Tom's waist tightly. They straightened out almost immediately prior to grabbing him and Tom was laughing at the terror he had caused her.

"Hey! You did that on purpose!" Diana argued.

"So, what if I did?" he teased.

"You're the worst!" she shouted, hitting him on the back.

"You're too kind, my lady." Tom laughed. They were skimming the surface of the Black Lake. "If you don't watch it I could possibly dump you into the lake right now. Did you know they have Merpeople down there?"

"Really?" she inquired, looking nervously down at the surface of the water as if one was going to just pop up and grab her.

"Don't worry I won't let them take you."

"I'm not worried." she assured him. A couple more laps around the school and they landed back in the Forbidden Forest a few minutes later. Tom helped her off and they started walking back to the Great Hall.

"So, why are you so against the subject of romance?" Tom asked, casually, as they shuffled back through the trees.

"Why do you ask?” Diana retaliated, looking at him with distrustful eyes.

"I'm just curious. You've been furiously avoiding it all night, something awful must have happened to you." he replied, with a cruel kind of chuckle.

"If you must know, I love someone and they loved me, but I waited too long and now they’re with someone else. So, I have to wallow in misery because I don't get to be with the person I want to be with," she sighed, picking up her pace a bit. She probably didn’t want to talk about it, but felt like she had to because he asked. "Honestly, I'm sick of all of it."

"I know the feeling." Tom conceded. Honestly, he was in that _exact_ situation. Such a strange coincidence. Almost, too much of a coincidence. _Wait a minute…_

A sudden loud crack. She suddenly started clutching her face. Her mask was starting to peel off and she wasn't ready for it. Tom watched as her antlers disappeared and her hair turned that oh-so-familiar shade of hazel. He would've looked to see if her eyes matched, but she was still clutching tight to her mask. However, the locket that swung out as she was hunched over told him everything he needed to confirm. Finally, she gave up the attempt and let her mask fall to the ground.

How could he have been such an idiot not to notice it sooner? It was her. The girl he had been waiting for.

"See? I told you."

"You're more beautiful than I ever could've imagined." Tom said, stepping closer to her. From what she said…didn't that mean…He couldn't control himself anymore and just had to satisfy his temptation. Tom pressed his lips up against hers. It had been almost a year ago and he couldn't deny he missed this feeling. Such a warm and fluttering feeling and yet…

He was the one to break away, remembering his mask was still securely in place. Frankie looked so confused almost terrified. She couldn't recognize him. He was still a stranger. Suddenly, his feet seemed to move on their own as he turned away from her. This time he was the one to run away into darkness.


	47. Death in Heartaches

The ball had been a successful night for some and a horrible disastrous night for others. Tom’s night had been somewhere in between. It was a rather agonizing thing, to sit next to her in Potions the next day and not admit that he was the one who kissed her at the ball. A part of him wished he had revealed his identity, instead of running away, especially since she technically admitted to having feelings for him. However, as Tom looked over at Frankie sitting beside him, he couldn't help to notice she looked a whole lot happier. She was smiling as she and Quin were working on book exercises together, with no hint of there being something amiss in their relationship. She probably hadn’t told him because, like Tom, he had an insanely jealous streak and she also wasn’t sure about what the kiss had meant. Frankie hadn’t yet confronted him and was treating him normally, so she probably didn’t suspect it was him. Tom’s mind kept flashing to the pained expression that grew when he pulled away. Both times he kissed her she had a look of terrifying confusion, like it was something mortifying and scary. Tom could just picture her reaction if he had told her it was him yet again. He would cause her yet another look of terror and another river of tears. Tom didn’t want to cause her anymore pain. She was near shattering for good.

He would, however, just simply wait. Keep this juicy little secret to himself and the warmth it brought him. Tom would bide his time until Frankie broke up with that idiot of her own accord. It wouldn't be so hard now that he knew she really did have some feelings for him. There was something he had to do first, unfortunately. It was going to be rather ugly, but at the same time going to feel so good.

_"What did you say to me?"_

A yell so tremendous it would have brought the attention of everyone on the floor if anyone was around. Luckily, it was that period of time after classes where most people were in their common rooms, studying before supper, and the corridor remained empty and barren. Tom had held Leri back from after their last class to tell her some rather upsetting news.

"I think you heard me the first time. Do you want me to say it again?" Tom stated, surprisingly calm for someone being screamed at. A fiery-faced Leri was shrieking at him like a mad merperson, but he just stood there with a defiant, satisfied smirk across his face.

"You didn't say anything. You got that!" Leri threatened, violently stabbing her finger into his chest. Tom still remained un-phased, standing his ground and remaining emotionless.

"Actually, I did. I said I'm done with you. Go away now." Tom remarked, even going as far as making hand motions for her to run along. He wanted her to be as pissed off as possible, so he could feel the full satisfaction in this.

"You can't do this!"

"But I can. I've wanted to since the moment happened. It's been long overdue really."

"I know what you're thinking! How naïve can you be? Do I have to spoon feed it to you?” Leri yelled, dementedly. Tom's face made a slight twitch of anger. “I don't know what you think happened between you two recently, but she is _never_ going to leaving him."

"I honestly don't know what you're referring to." he remarked, innocently.

"Don't play dumb with me! I'm referring to Little Miss Gryffindor!" she growled, through gritted teeth. Tom made a gesture of fake confusion, before a small fake light bulb appeared above him.

"Oh, her! I can guarantee you for someone like her I'd wait forever if I need to," Tom assured her. He remained unaffected by the fact he had completely pushed yet another person over the edge. He was starting to get quite a body count at the bottom of this figurative cliff. "Unlike you, she's pretty and kind. I don’t think vengeful bitch is really my type."

Leri withdrew her wand from her pocket in a tearful rage and pointed it straight at Tom’s neck. Even for Leri, this was a completely new sense of anger that Tom had brought out. However, he merely continued smirking at her. She was unable to mutter a single curse before Tom had swiftly grabbed her hand with the wand making it point up at the ceiling. Her expression weakened slightly in fear, yet she remained in a defiant state not saying a word.

"Who are you trying to fool? Did you honestly think you could hit me with this twig you call a wand," he laughed, menacingly. She tried to break free of his grip but he tore the wand from her grasp, held her head straight, and pointed it right at her neck, "I don’t get you, Leri. I never have. I mean, you claim to love me, but you’ve never feigned the slightest in interest in getting to know me. Why do you go this far for something we both know is not in your heart?”

“Someone like you, wouldn’t understand...” She turned to pitifully glare and he knew exactly what she was referring to when she said ‘someone like you’. The one thing that all the Slytherins had that gave them even less freedom then Tom did. What she did to him and Frankie wasn’t out of love or jealousy, it was out of the fear of someone else who had power over her. However, in Tom’s eyes, this didn’t make her innocent.

“You know I could kill you if I wanted." he snarled, jabbing the wand into her neck.

"You don't have the guts." Leri replied, with a laugh. Yet there was still a trickle of fear in her voice that said she thought otherwise. There were whispers amongst the Slytherins that Tom had done it before. He could easily do it again.

"Are you so sure of that?" Tom smirked, giving a truly terrifying sort of smile. He released her and she fell to the floor, shivering in fear. This break up had gone better than he thought it would. "In the future, I suggest you stay away from me. You'll live longer if you do."

He left her there in the empty corridor, sunken to the ground shaking out fear and anger. Leri, like so many others, had never seen Tom's true and terrifying nature. He had kept it well constrained most of the times, but something about her just made him snap inside. You would think she wouldn't want anything to do with him now that he had basically threatened to kill her. However, once the angry rage subsided and she let Tom's words sink in. She held a look of admiration, not fear. The god of Slytherin was never supposed to be her prince charming, he was always meant to be a cruel evil madman and she was perfectly fine with that.

Besides, she wasn’t allowed to give up.

It a few days later it was Sunday. A cloudy November day that made you want to shiver at the sight. However, in rain or shine, a promise was a promise. They had made it through a whole lot worse than this. Tom couldn't help but feel overjoyed when he saw her waiting by the Great Hall like usual. He hadn’t gotten the chance to tell her of his wonderful news yet. Frankie looked a little tired, her hair a shade darker still slightly drying from a morning shower, staring down at her feet waiting for his arrival. Finally, noticing his approach her face changed into her usual broad grin, but then seconds later turned into an oddly confused stare when she saw him smiling back.

"Is something wrong, Tom?" Frankie asked, seeming to look at him from every angle to see if it was just her imagination.

"Nothing is wrong. Why do you ask?" Tom replied, for once struggling to hold back his excitement.

"You just look so—so—happy." she stammered, in shock.

"That's because it's the best day of the week. I'm always at my happiest on Sunday." he laughed, enthusiastically. He took her hand in his, making her blush.

"Me too!" Frankie smiled. The two started walking down to their usual spot. The gusting winds tussling through their hair, blowing the leaves around them. They were almost to the same old tree, when Tom said something rather odd to her.

"So, how are things going with you and Quin?"

"Huh?" Frankie remarked, in confusion. The gears grinding in her head seem to still be trying to process the question.

"I said, how are things—"

"Now, I know there's something going on. You never want to talk about Quin. You two absolutely despise each other." she exclaimed, in a known-for-a-fact kind of tone.

"Just a bit curious." Tom replied, simply. However, what he really wanted to know was when the break up was. According to her, she didn’t really love him, so what was the big wait anymore? It was time to kick him to the curb too. With Frankie’s confession and Leri off his back he was lifted with a brim of confidence about the situation at hand. She would soon be all his again and everything would be normal again. Well, it’d be different from how it was before, but it was a change for the better.

"Well, what about you?" Frankie asked, in retaliation.

"I thought you would never ask. I'm done with her." The second she had processed what he had said, Tom could see her suddenly sparkle with a radiant smile and her hazel eyes grow larger.

"Really! That's—"she started, her excitement growing. But then realizing it was a rather rude thing to say, no matter how much she hated Leri. "—too bad."

"No need to hold back. Let it out already." Tom stated, calmly.

Not realizing the implications of what he had just said, she jumped to her feet pulling him up with her. They spun round and round, well more like Frankie spun taking Tom with her. She seemed to be even more overjoyed about it than he was. Yet he had to admit that he felt something that made him want to lift her into the air above him.

"So why are you this excited? Perhaps, you've finally fallen for me." Tom added, mischievously.

"Don’t be silly. I have Quin." she blushed, suddenly letting go of him and sinking back to the ground. Tom merely smiled.

"This brings us back to the question. How is that working out for you?" he asked, smugly.

"Fine—okay— nothing really new…"Frankie reported, to the grass. A small frown grew on her face. "Can we talk about something else please? Honestly, I'd tell you if something was happening."

"Fine. But I—"

_"Hello there, you two!"_

Suddenly, a bubbly blonde popped up from behind the tree, making both Frankie and Tom jump nervously. They were worried it was Leri, but thankfully it turned out just to be Dylan.

"Merlin's Beard, Dylan! You need to stop doing that." Frankie added, still clutching her heart.

"Doing what?" Dylan replied, seemingly clueless.

"Ugh, never mind. Why are you here?" Frankie asked.

"I was just walking back on my way from trying to talk to Helena. Remember Prue wanted us to try and reason with her.” Frankie slapped herself on the forehead.

"Oh shoot! I forgot. How is she? I don't understand why the Ravenclaws are making us go talk to her, not that I mind, it's just—"

"Who are you talking about?" Tom asked, trying to make sure he was not pushed aside and forgotten.

"Helena Ravenclaw, you know the Grey Lady. She’s the ghost that haunts Ravenclaw tower." Dylan answered.

"I didn't know her name was actually Ravenclaw. I just thought she haunted the house." Tom remarked, trying to remember what she looked like. A vague image of a girl around their age in a wispy black cloak and a gown came to mind, but nothing further.

" _Helena_ Ravenclaw. She's Rowena's daughter, or at least claims to be—"

"Claims to be?" he inquired, confused. Their faces both sunk into matching grimaces.

"Unfortunately, because of her personality most people don't believe her. Not even the students in her own house." Frankie answered, obviously imagining what it was like to have everyone call her a liar. It must’ve been awful.

"Do you believe her?" Tom asked, turning to address her specifically. She seemed even more upset by this question, but only a little bit.

"Of course I do! Why would she lie about something like that when so many people are after the Lost Diadem?” Frankie replied, crossing her arms. “Surely, she must get bugged about it a lot. People probably think she knows where it is and then, when she obviously refuses to tell, they call her a fraud."

"What was that about a 'Lost Diadem'?" Tom inquired, with a newly sparked interest. It sounded rather important and it must've been if people were so desperate to find it.

"I'm surprised you've never heard of it, Tom. It's quite famous. Rowena Ravenclaw had a tiara that was said to increase the knowledge of the wearer. It's a prized artifact and has yet to be found." Dylan explained, as she leaned up against the tree.

"How very interesting,” Tom replied, holding back a maniacal smirk. A dead vulnerable girl and a rare priceless artifact sounded like it was right up his alley.

It was Wednesday after classes and Tom was walking down the emptying corridor when he first saw Helena Ravenclaw, or at least first noticed her. He had passed her many times over the years and yet had never spoken to her before, but now he had intentionally gone looking for her. She had something he wanted. Her dark waist length hair was tied back in a neat braid down her back. She sat in a stone window frame, gazing out at the grounds with a look of utter sorrow.

"Are you alright?" Tom asked, putting his hand on her wispy white shoulder. It fell through and she jumped back. Her face filled with panic and she hid behind a nearby pillar.

"Who are you?" she asked, peering at him from behind the pillar.

"My name is Tom Riddle." Tom answered, extending his arm. However, he lowered it seconds later realizing she couldn't shake it anyway. Instead he gave her a low bow.

"What do you want from me? Have you come to mock me as well?" she hissed, suddenly growing angry. However, Tom remained calm.

"I just want to talk. Trust me." he added, charmingly.

"Why would someone like _you_ want to talk to me?" she asked, gazing at him with suspicion. Tom flinched, being called ‘someone like you’.

"Because you seem rather lonely. No one enjoys talking to the Grey Lady—"

"I do not go by _that_ name." she spat back, angrily.

"I'm sorry. Then, tell me your real one. How do you expect people to call you by your name if you do not tell them?" Tom said, frantically trying to fix his mistake.

"People laugh when I tell them, like it's some sort of cruel joke. They don't believe it's my name." she sighed, slightly cringing at the thought.

"I'll believe you if you just tell me." Tom assured her. She fell for it hook line and sinker.

"It's Helena. Helena Ravenclaw." she admitted, stepping out a couple inches from her spot behind the pillar. Tom remained his distance, so she would not run away.

"Such a lovely name. It's nice to meet you Helena." He accidently extended his right arm again for her to shake. Tom retracted his hand and she let out a small giggle.

"Do you really think so?"

"I do."

"You actually believe me." Her surprise was obvious.

"Is that why you don't enjoy talking to the others?" Tom asked, seemingly curious.

"I don't enjoy talking to others for many reasons. That is only one of them." she stated, sharply.

"What are the others?" he asked. By the look of outrage on her face Tom had said the wrong thing.

"I do not wish to talk of such things!" Helena screamed, starting to rush straight for the wall.

"I'm sorry Helena! Please don't leave." Tom exclaimed, desperately trying to grab onto her cloak to keep her from leaving. Luckily, she stopped.

"Why are you so kind to me?" she asked, confused. _Because, like many, I want that Diadem._

"Maybe because I'm just like you, Helena." he replied. Tom thought about the orphanage for the first time since leaving. The years of pain and loneliness, before Frankie came. She made it so he didn’t have to go through that anymore, however, he still understood how Helena was feeling.

"How can you be? You're in _his_ house. I see your Head Boy, as well. You must be somewhat popular." Helena argued, doubtfully. It was kind of true. He was Head Boy, moderately handsome, polite and well-mannered to everybody. But that was mostly all a façade. He took her pale white hand and, surprisingly, it didn’t fade through his.

"Your house and status does not define who you are," Tom allured, charismatically. She swiped her hand out of his yet her face was somewhat embarrassed, not angry. "You of all people should know that."

"That is rather wise. Who taught you that?" Helena muttered. A girl. She taught him that. At the time he didn't believe her, but they were living proof of this.

"No one." he answered, softly.

"I often see you reading in this corridor." she admitted. So, she had seen him too. Perhaps, she was even watching him. "Are you into literature?"

"Yes. I enjoy it very much." Tom replied, for once being truthful. The one thing he enjoyed.

"Perhaps, you would enjoy a book I hid in the library…"

"Of course. If you show it to me I will—"

"I don't feel like going there right now. I'd just rather stay alone." she answered, coldly. "Also _he's_ up there. He always goes there this time of day."

"Then, just tell me where it is and I promise I'll go find it." Tom replied, hastily, not even bothering to address who she was talking about in case of angering her further.

"In the farthest corner, behind the third stone. Do not return until you have read it." Helena demanded, harshly. But Tom merely gave her another graceful bow and turned to leave.

"If that is what you wish. Bye then, Helena." He was leaving for now, but rest assured he would be back for her. To befriend the young ghost would be quite easy for him.

Frankie rushed down girl's dormitory steps into the Gryffindor common room still with a joyous spring in her step, obviously because of Tom’s news a few days prior. She hadn't felt so happy in a while. In fact, lately Frankie felt as though she hadn't really been smiling at all. Ever since the last days of summer she had felt a singe of pain burning her insides making her just want to bust out crying most days. However, the pain was completely gone now. Unfortunately, this happy spring in her step would soon be gone and the searing pain was going to return. Now, it was her turn to do exactly what she knew Tom had really done for her more than himself. It was all she had to do.

There he was. Quin was sitting on the couch drawing with his quill on a piece of parchment, unaware of her looming presence. Her stomach tightened with every step she took but she had to do it. He looked up at her as she finally appeared in front of the couch and gave her a small grimace that matched hers.

"I need to talk to you." they both said at the exact same time. The two cracked smiles and let out a couple chuckles, even though it was anything but a laughing matter.

"You can go first my thing isn't really all that important." she lied. However, he detected that lie rather fast.

"It's alright, Frankie. I know what you want to say." Quin replied, normally.

"You do?" Frankie remarked, in disbelief. How could he possibly know? She knew this wasn't what he wanted. So, how come he was acting so calm?

"Yes. I suppose I've known it in the back of mind know. I was just in denial, acting really stupid." Quin admitted. Frankie stood confused. She didn't understand what he was saying.

"What?"

"You don't really like me, do you? You never have."

"Quin, that's not true!" Frankie remarked, desperately. She really did love Quin. It just wasn’t the same.

"I've known it since the moment I met you and Tom. Don't try to deny it. You have always fancied him over me,” Quin explained calmly. His anger should've been outrageous. He mostly hated Tom for this very reason. “You’ve always been too thick to notice, but me and him were always fighting over you. When I finally thought I had won over him, it didn't feel like won at all, you know? I just couldn’t let go…"

"Why didn't you say anything a whole lot sooner?" she asked, holding back the tears threatening to pour out.

"I was still in denial up till last Sunday. I saw you two on one your usual Sunday walks—"

"Wait, how do you know about our Sunday walks?" Frankie asked, sounding outraged. Almost no one knew, except the Gryffindor girls and Slughorn. She wasn't exactly planning on her boyfriend about them any time soon.

"I'm not entirely stupid, you know. You’ve been disappearing every single Sunday, since first year. Let's just say, I caught on pretty quickly," Quin answered, with a slight chuckle but them his voice growing eerily and cold once more. "Anyway that's not the point! The point is I overheard your conversation and saw how you reacted."

"Oh, so you know—"

"Yes, but that wasn't really my major concern. Your reaction—the look on your face—you looked so happy. You may think I can't tell when you're truly smiling, but I can. You haven't truly smiled once since we’ve started seeing each other." he explained, his expression growing harder with every word.

"That's not—"

"It is true. That first year game of Quidditch we played. The moment right before we went on field. That was the brightest I had ever seen your smile. I fell in love with that smile and that was how it shone on Sunday. That's how you've always smiled at him." he smiled, for the memory but not for her. "So, that’s why I have come to the same decision as you. I won't hold you back anymore."

She didn’t move or speak or even breathe for that matter. So, he had to give her a little push towards the portrait hole.

“I’m baring my soul over here. The least you could do is not completely waste it!” Quin exclaimed, through gritted teeth. She was remaining quite stationary and was having trouble moving her without picking her up princess style, which she probably didn’t need right now. “I’ll make this even easier, if you want. I’m breaking up with you. It’s just not working out. I don’t find you attractive anymore. You’re just an annoying, know-it-all, bookworm.”

“Thank you, Quin,” Frankie answered, finally. She started walking, before he ended up pushing her over. “and I'm sorry."

Quin went up the boy’s stairs without another word, leaving her alone in the empty common room. He seemed to be so okay with it, but was he really? He was giving her to his worst enemy. He was probably angrier about it than he claimed to be and she wouldn't blame him if he didn’t want to talk to her anymore after this mess. Frankie knew she wouldn't want to talk to her either, if she was him. A whole mix of emotions was soaring through her. She still could barely breathe. She really didn't want to hurt him.

Frankie climbed out of the portrait hole wiping her sleeve on her eye to see if she had actually let out any of those tears. Her sleeve remained perfectly dry. She wasn't crying at all. The Fat Lady gave her a small saddened wave as Frankie shut the portrait. She had probably heard everything, but she decided to remain silent for once. It was for the better. Frankie really didn't feel up to talking to anyone right now, but didn't mean she wasn't going to be bothered until she felt up to it. Frankie had just made it down the last steps of the grand staircase to find the person she least wanted to talk to, waiting for her at the bottom.

Leri stood with her usual glowering expression, Cackletta was the same. However, Ellyn's expression was much different than theirs. She looked to be in a trance, an empty sort of sorrowful stare.

"I'm in no mood for your bullshit. Get out of my way." Frankie snapped, angrily, motioning with her hand for them to move from her path.

"Why? So, you can go find Tom." Leri sneered, speaking so loudly it was attracting the attention of the people around them.

"Actually, yes," she smiled, thinking about it. After all this mess, she needed Tom. If there was one person on earth she actually wanted to talk to in this moment, it certainly wasn’t Leri. Not to mention there was something she really needed to tell him. It was something that really couldn't wait any longer. "I'm going to find him.”

_Thwack!_

The hatred and rage filled Leri's cold grey eyes. Although, Frankie remained on the last step of the stairs her small amount of added height did not intimidate Leri. Frankie's right cheek reddened, slightly, but that was from the slap across the face. Her expression remained calm and emotionless. The crowd whispered.

"Shut up…” Leri growled, hideously. She clenched her fist in visible anger that just appeared to be growing larger. “Why won't you ever just shut up?"

"Why are you so angry? What have I ever done to you?" Frankie asked, in a monotone voice. Tired of all the fighting, clearly not in the mood for this, she remained with an empty expression, while Leri exploded with anger.

"You just couldn't keep to yourself. It's your fault. Stop getting in my way!" Leri screeched.

"I'll stop getting in your way, once you stop acting stupid. Never." Frankie stated, looking defiant and strong. Leri didn't enjoy that.

_Thwack!_

Frankie had closed her eyes, expecting another hit, yet it never came. She reopened her eyes. The slapping sound had not come from Leri, but instead it had come from her right side. Ellyn stood in front of Frankie with an angry glare, or at least as angry as Frankie ever seen her, at Leri. Come to think it, she hadn't ever seen her angry at all. She was just sort there. Sometimes Frankie even forgot she was there. Everyone watching the commotion seemed to be just as surprised as Frankie, their mouths all in the shapes of singular 'O's.

"Just stop it already! I've been telling you what you've been telling them. It's pointless. She's right. You need to stop acting stupid and just let them be," Ellyn yelled, as loud as she could. "You've lost."

"I knew you were spineless, Ellyn, but standing up for a Gryffindor. This is a new low even for you." Leri smirked, with a cruel laugh. She removed her wand and was ready for retaliation. However, the crowd was still murmuring, professors were probably going to be called soon. "Let's go. I’ve grown tired of this and these rats aren’t worth our time…"

The two left up the stairs, making sure to shove past Ellyn and Frankie as they went. The group dispersed as well leaving Ellyn and Frankie standing in their wake.

"Come on. I think it's about time we talked." Frankie started off, breaking the awkward silence between them. Ellyn nodded and they left the main doors for outside. "So…why exactly did you stick up for me?"

"Well—you see—the night of the masquerade. I met you."

"That was you. How did you know it was me?"

"I didn't know, until you left. You muttered Tom's name and stormed off without another word."

"I could've been Leri." Frankie replied, bluntly. It did sound like something Leri would do. In fact, it was probably what she had done. She probably spent the whole entire night looking for him too. Frankie would have to remember to ask Tom what exactly he had done the night of the masquerade, later.

"Leri could never be that funny and happy,” she answered, cheekily. “I also saw that look you got in your eye. That was the real deal breaker. She doesn’t look at him like that."

"I still don't get while you helped me. I mean aren’t you're in love with—"

"I’ve never really been in love with Tom you know. I was pretending, up until Leri and him got together," Ellyn admitted, sticking out her tongue a little. “I thought he was kind of cute when I first saw him. But, to be honest, I’ve always found him to be a rude prat with anger issues, when he’s with anyone who’s not you.”

"What?" Frankie stammered, ignoring the fact she called Tom a prat. That just wasn't possible. The trio were all in love with Tom. When did that change?

"I really lost my ‘love’ for him the day of the Halloween contest. I saw the same look in his eyes when he ran to go find you. That's when I realized it was pointless." she explained, looking up at the grey cloudy sky. Her voice held no pretense.

“That was all the way back in first year. Why keep pretending?"

"I've known Leri since we were born and, as much as I want to, I’ll never be able to erase that fact. She will be at my wedding, or any dinner party I ever decide to throw for the rest my life, if I want her there or not. I will never escape this friendship, yet given my own free will, I can't just leave her either. Imagine if you got into a disagreement with Tom and just stopped talking to him forever," Ellyn stated. Frankie couldn't even imagine. Not talking to Tom ever again, no matter what kind of disagreement they got in. That's what Ellyn had pretty much just done for her, despite saying she couldn’t leave Leri. She was probably not planning on forgiving Ellyn’s betrayal so easily. “She’s not always a monster.”

"You’re right. But all those tricks—"

"Weren't actually me if you remember. I may have been there but I never actually did anything." Ellyn interrupted. She was right. Looking back on it Ellyn had always been kind of in the shadow of the trio. Not saying or doing anything to harm her, Frankie always just thought it was her quiet shy demeanor. “Also, I was the one who told Tom you were in the Shrieking Shack back in third year. Leri went way too far that time.”

"So, what made you change your mind about leaving her?"

"Just everything she was saying to you finally got under my skin. I can't believe she hit you…"

"I can't believe you hit her." Frankie laughed, clearly still astonished.

"Not going to lie. It felt amazing finally hitting her across the face." Ellyn remarked, cracking a smile.

"I'm sure it did." Frankie added, cracking a small smile herself. "Are you sure you're going to be okay without Leri?"

"I'll be fine and she’ll be fine. She may have an ugly personality, but her face is stunning and her family is powerful. I’m sure once Tom is far, far away she’ll get some handsome hotshot husband and forgive the both of us,” Ellyn replied. “Meanwhile, if I'm ever lonely, I can just talk to you and Peter."

"I forgot about that! What happened?" Frankie shrieked, excitedly. She had introduced the two at the masquerade ball, unconsciously.

"It was kind of shocking when we both changed back. We didn't have a clue who each other were until both are masks fell off. He looked surprised to find out it was me and likewise. I mean we’ve known each other for just as long, but he’s always judged me by being one of Leri's lackeys, assuming I was just as mean as she was.” Ellyn told the story, blushing even more. She smiled softly. "I suppose he took the whole don't judge people on appearance attitude that you always seem to have and despite being still liked me. You're the one who convinced him to come talk to me. I owe you a lot."

"It was nothing, really. I'm just so glad it worked out."

"Um—do you think—we could—I know I don't deserve your forgiveness. But at the ball—"

"I've been looking for the girl with the deer stub. She actually made the night somewhat bearable. As far as I'm concerned, she had potential to be one of my best friends." Frankie smiled.

"Really?"

"Really…"They sat smiling, until a sudden realization went through Ellyn's head. She started going back to her normal fidgety and panicky self.

"Oh, shoot. I completely forgot that you were looking for Tom. You've got to find him as soon as possible." she sputtered, franticly, looking all around them as he were somewhere within eyesight. "I'll go check the common room. Stay here."

It felt good to finally have another friend in a different house. She had always wanted a girl friend from Slytherin. Except, well, most of the Slytherins hated her. Everything seemed much better in this moment she just needed to tell Tom and then everything would be at least a little closer to perfect. Unable to contain herself, she sped off towards the Black Lake, to her and Tom’s spot. She had a strange feeling she'd find him there, sitting by the tree, his head buried into a book. Running faster and faster she arrived at the other side of the school grounds, leaning against the old tree out of breath. Sure enough she was right. Although, it was not Sunday he was sitting reading a book under the autumn leaves.

"Are you alright?" Tom asked, immediately noticing her arrival and putting down a book that read, _"_ _The Four Founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_ _"_.

"Never—better—what are you doing out here?" Frankie gasped, heavily.

"It was too loud. There's some big commotion going on up at the school. So, I came here." Tom answered, shrugging. A look of guilt washed over her face. She knew exactly what commotion he was talking about.

"It's over now, thankfully." she sighed, in relief.

"What happened? Did you see anything?" he asked. The guilty look remained. She saw it all right. Her cheek was still slightly red.

"It wasn't really a big deal. It was just Leri—"

"What did she do to you?" Tom remarked, immediately, slightly panicked and mostly angered. "Did she hurt—?”

"I'm fine, Tom. She won't ever be able to hurt me," she assured him. "Besides, Ellyn helped me out—"

"Ellyn, did? How strange. Are you sure they didn't hit your head or something?" he said, putting his hands on her shoulders. He still looked rather worried, which was completely justifiable since her adrenaline shot down and her nerves kicked in.

"I'm positive. Listen there's—something—I've got to tell you."

"What is it?" he asked, calming down a bit. Frankie bit her bottom lip. Now she knew why Tom had delayed confessing to her for so many years. Even though she knew what his answer was going to be she was still shaking in fear. This was crazy.

"I—l-lo-love you" Frankie stammered nervously. Tom froze. Finally, the words he had been waiting to hear from her for so long were being said from her lips. Just barely, but still.

"What?" Tom asked, his voice was confused, breathless, and unsure if he was actually hearing this. Then, he smiled. Not a creepy smirk to be followed by cruelness. An actual real genuine smile. Although, he knew to himself he had heard her quite clearly. He just _needed_ her to say it again.

"I – I love you," Frankie managed, barely able to say it for the second time. She felt weak, even weaker than she felt when she was looking at his long, broad form standing before her genuinely smiling. She couldn't believe that she was saying this to him. Frankie pursed her pale pink lips in frustration of her difficulty to say three little words without hesitation, yet as she gazed at him he could see the anger leave her face. Yet her lips remained pursed. She leaned in and kissed him. It felt even better having her be the one who kissed him and not the other way around. The happy warm feeling coursed through his cold veins and when they pulled away she was smiling brighter than he had ever seen her. The kiss seemed to give her the courage to say what she had been trying to say earlier, with confidence. "I love you, Tom."

"You're an idiot. What took you so long?" Tom replied, thumping her on the forehead. He didn’t have to say that he loved her back, he’d already confessed before and she did have to pay some for making him wait all this time for her. However, he still kept that genuine smile.

"I've always loved that strange girl I met from the bushes. _Always_...”


	48. For The Greater Good

As snow slowly started to fall from the cloudy grey sky, it was a sign that the winter holiday was at Hogwarts once more. The Gryffindor girl’s dorm displayed a mismatch of clothes carelessly tossed aside and textbooks halfway hidden under beds, nobody wants to take those sort of things on a vacation. All the students were getting ready to leave in a few days. Well, almost all of them. Frankie sat curled up on her bed, watching the others pack up to leave, with the familiar feeling of being alone. Although, she knew it would only last a day and she would spend the time with Ethan and Tom, she was also thankful this would be the last time she ever had to feel this way.

"I want to stay here but my parents are just relentless! They think once I graduate I'm just going to go off somewhere and forget about them." Dylan complained, stuffing another sweater into her bag.

"It's the same with my parents. It's our last year! So, what if we don't come home for Christmas just this once." Bina groaned, plopping down on her freshly made bed.

“You think that's bad, try having muggles for parents. The novelty of me being a witch has worn off by now. They think I’m a freak when I come home talking about the wizarding world.” Katy sighed. They had all been complaining about the fact they weren’t allowed to stay for days now. However, no matter how much they complained, they had still opted to return home in the first place and were still going to leave in the end.

"It won't be that long. You'll be back before you know it." Frankie added, in attempt to lift their spirits. Of course, once she entered the conversation it took a turn in the same conversation they had been having since _it_ happened. Over a month later and they still couldn’t get over it, neither could the entire school really. A Gryffindor and a Slytherin, together, why it was simply unheard of.

"Easy for you to say! You get to stay here with your B-O-Y-F-R-I-E-N-D." Dylan teased and before Frankie could protest quickly added, "I'm allowed to say that now because it's true."

"So, what if it is?" Frankie answered, sticking out her tongue rather childishly.

"I still can't believe it. I mean finally! You two took forever, you know." Dylan said, in such a dramatic fashion that made Frankie want to smack her upside the head.

"We did not! It's not like we were supposed to be together." Frankie protested. All the girls came towards Dylan, as if she had given them some sort of command.

"In our eyes you always were." Dylan said, pulling the rest of the girls close. The arguing gave in, the small frustration leaving, and she gave a grateful smile before going over to join them.

Unlike Frankie, Tom could care less about the fact his roommates were leaving. He still didn't care for any of them personally and he finally had her all back to himself. No more waiting for her to open her eyes, no more useless relations with people they didn’t like, and thankfully no more of the Fat Lady's mad rants. She had been more welcoming to Tom since he and Frankie were actually together. The moment she found out she had started shrieking, _"I knew! I knew it would happen eventually! Glad I shot a little information into the thick skull of yours, aren’t you, Tommy boy? No need to thank me. Look at em’ Vi! Aren’t they just the sweetest thing?"_ She and Violet had gone into major giggles and acted like they were responsible for the whole affair. After that, she no longer yelled at him when he walked Frankie to her common room or gave him advice he didn’t really want. Even though, he had to admit, her advice had helped a little. But ultimately it was extremely annoying and unwarranted.

"I see you're staying behind again, Tom." Peter asked. For once he was going home as well. His parents had made excuses every other year, but they couldn’t find an excuse for this one, so they were bringing back home. Tom would actually be staying alone this year. Again, it was not like he really cared, though.

"Of course. I don't have anywhere better to go…" Tom answered, simply.

“I think I'd kill myself, if I had to stay at school over the whole entire winter holiday.” Malfoy interjected bitterly. He always made comments like this at Tom when he got the chance. Having her be with Quin was one thing, but being with Tom was a whole other. The other Slytherins, including Tom, had always ridiculed him for liking her and now that she’s with Tom it’s suddenly okay.

"Same. I'm so ready to get out of here." Lestrange sighed. This was a typical attitude the seventh year Slytherins all had. The feeling of wanting to be free and go on to bigger and better things. Well, a feeling all but three of them had really. Tom had always found freedom at Hogwarts, he would be perfectly content to stay in the only place he considered home. Meanwhile, Ellyn and Peter didn’t want to leave anytime soon either.

"I'm sure Tom isn't too upset. He'll get to spend Christmas with his girlfriend." Avery added in from the sidelines, not knowing Tom spent every Christmas with her anyway. He didn’t tell them much of his past with Frankie. Suddenly, they were just together and rumors flew around by who he could assume were the Gryffindor girls. Tom merely confirmed these rumors when the Slytherin boys asked about it and told them nothing more.

"He's probably going to snog her face off." Lestrange laughed, devilishly.

"Well, he is the Lord of Slytherin. What do you expect?" Avery added, smugly, even though they weren't talking about him.

The Slytherin boys had not reacted to how Tom expected they would. At first they thought he was joking, until a tremendous glare and the simple question not meant to be answered, ‘ _Does it look like I’m joking?_ ’. Apparently, being the ruler over the Slytherins gave him the right to do whatever he wished, even if it was something as taboo as dating a Gryffindor. Some of the younger boys of their house had even started to try and emulate him by talking to Gryffindor girls of their own year. Tom wish he’d known earlier that it would turn out this way.

The conversation was growing rather annoying as they went on, making him grow rather nasty pictures in his head. They certainly not that kind of couple this early on. Although, they might’ve got these vulgar ideas from Tom feeling the need to further prove to them that this was not some joke. PDA was not his style, but even so, he had passionately kissed her in the entrance hall for everyone to see. He tried to shake the vulgar thoughts, but the boys just kept jabbering on about women without him. Tom rifled through his drawers, scribbled a quick note, folded it up and released it out the window. He raced pass them and down to the common room. Suddenly, as he was running towards the exit, the temperature dropped several degrees and he was in a white foggy haze. Tom noticed but did not stop in time and smacked right into the stone wall. Luckily, no one was in the common room to see his momentary blunder, except Helena Ravenclaw.

"Helena, what are you doing in here?" Tom inquired, quickly, trying to act all composed after his clumsy mistake.

"I know I should not be in here and believe me nor do I want to. It is _his_ house after all. He'll be able to find me better if I am in a place he knows so well," she answered, icily. Tom did not know who _‘_ _he_ _’_ was yet, but for someone she clearly loathed, she sure did mention him a lot. "I just had to ask you something."

"What is it?" he asked, a bit hopefully. Smuggling that tiara out of her was still proving to be useless. She trusted him enough and they talked all the time now. She had just floated into the common room to come see him. So, why wasn't she telling him anything about the Diadem? It's like she was expecting him to literally pry it from her cold dead hands.

"Are you going off on holiday?" she asked. Tom spirits were dampened, but he remained emotionless and blank.

"No. I'll be staying here." he answered. The moment he had said that he thought he saw her jaw crack into a miniscule smile, but it dissolved instantly.

"That's good." Helena sighed, sounding a bit relieved.

"Why?" Tom asked, faking his confusion. He may have had an idea about why she wanted him to stay, but part of the fun of toying with a girl’s emotions was to act completely oblivious to them.

"No reason. I’ll see you soon, then." she replied, tensing up once again. It had worked like a charm. If she wasn't a ghost, she probably would've been somewhat blushing. She was becoming more readable by the day. Then in one big puff of smoke she was gone, leaving only a faint silvery white trail behind her.

Frankie was already waiting by the portrait of The Fat Lady by the time Tom reached the seventh floor. She held a rather nervous smile, as she rocked back and forth on her heels. A smile that must have been amplified a hundred percent the moment her eyes locked with his.

"What did you want to talk about, Tom?" she asked, as he approached her.

"I just thought we would take a walk through the castle. I need some air from all the stupidity." She seemed to ignore that last part and started to pull him forward. They walked through the corridors mindlessly ignoring the few stares from the years below. The stares were nothing new. They had always gotten weird looks, even when they weren’t together. All they seemed to notice were the colors of their ties, not who they really were. Luckily, the corridors seemed to get emptier as they walked on.

"Are you sad we don't go anywhere for Christmas, Tom?" Frankie asked, suddenly.

"Not really, Hogwarts is our home. I've never wanted to go anywhere else." Tom replied truthfully. "What about you?"

"Never." she smiled.

No one was around, might as well seize the opportunity. The timing was right, although really when was it not really. Anytime was the right time for him now that she no longer held any objections. Tom leaned in closer…

_"Ah, hello you two!"_

They jumped apart quickly, hoping whoever had seen them hadn't seen, or was going to talk to them about, them almost kissing. The voice became quite clear a few seconds later. None other than their favorite teacher, Professor Slughorn.

"Good afternoon, sir." Tom greeted him, as usual. Although, he was finding it very hard to hold back the agitation he felt towards his professor in this moment.

"I'm sorry. Was I interrupting something?" Slughorn question, looking down at their interlocking fingers.

 _"Yes!"_ Tom hissed, inside his head.

"Of course not, sir. We were just taking a walk around the castle." he answered, with a surprisingly normal, polite voice.

"Ha, you two haven't changed a bit!" Slughorn laughed.

"Well, we'd better be off now. We'll be due back at the common rooms soon." Tom lied, trying to get him away as soon as possible.

"Ah, yes. Just as long as you don't go wandering off where you aren't supposed to." Slughorn replied, in a dismissive kind of tone. They waved him goodbye as he walked passed them, probably headed for the Three Broomsticks.

Slughorn had only found out at his most recent Christmas party, a few days prior. Tom remembered how Frankie pulled him through the crowd of famous commodities and fellow students, how they got to dance without pain. It was more of a coming out party. It's where most people put two and two together. The air was suffocating and humid enough already without the extra attention they were grabbing. Suddenly, Frankie was pulling him through to the place where the photos were being taken.

"Why? We'll be taking the group photo in a couple minutes." Tom said, as she pulled him forward.

"We need more pictures of the two of us, considering we don’t really have many from the orphanage.” Mrs. Cole rarely bothered to take pictures of the children growing up, however, there was an employee who enjoyed photographing the children for her. Usually ‘parents’ wanted those kind of things, they were handed over in their files when they left.  When they left the orphanage, Tom got one of him and some other boys, before he was cursed and actually liked him, one of him and Frankie sitting at their table in the garden, and even one of him and his mother on the night he was born, before…

"Fine. Just one." Tom sighed. They stepped in front of the camera and he interlocked his finger in hers. Two pairs of genuine smiles and in one giant flash it was over. Slughorn was now standing by the camera man with appalled expression.

"My goodness! Are you two—" The two shook their heads up and down, not wanting him to finish the rest. He was basically shouting above the crowd. Several heads had even turned to stare at them. "How wonderful! I knew it would happen eventually. I always had a feeling about the two of you! My most prized students…"

They never did get to see that picture. Most likely Slughorn had stolen it for 'The Shelf', a bookshelf in his office where he kept pictures of his best and brightest. Tom led Frankie the opposite way of Slughorn, so they wouldn't be interrupted again. However, he just couldn't catch a break. They had just turned the corner when there, in the middle of the corridor, stood a black hooded figure. At first glance, they thought the figure was a Dementor and instinctively hid behind the corner. However, in closer examination, the figure definitely had flesh and was much too short. Pudgy wrinkling arms appeared from beneath the cloak began digging in the cloak pocket for something. After retrieving what looked like a letter, the figure looked from the left to the right in desperation, wondering which path they should take. Tom and Frankie, still hidden around the corner, could not make out the face, but straggly, greying-blonde hairs could just be seen sticking out from the hood as it whisked towards the right corridor. A sudden gasp from Tom's side and Frankie went running after the cloaked figure.

"Frankie!" he hissed, in an angry whisper. Tom ran after her. What was she thinking? He had already deducted, whoever it was, it wasn’t a teacher or a student. They shouldn't be in Hogwarts. You can't just waltz through the front door like most places. It was an impenetrable fortress. Whoever could break into Hogwarts was clearly not to be taken lightly.

"Mrs. Bagshot!" Frankie yelled, with a mix of happiness and shock. The figure turned at the addressing from the young girl, smiled, and removed the hood of the cloak.

"It's nice to see you again, dear." she said, softly. Tom stared at this woman closely. Her blonde hair was greying, straggly and she looked to be slightly older than Dumbledore. He remembered Frankie mentioning meeting a 'Mrs. Bagshot' the summer she had went to Godric's Hollow. However, it didn’t explain what she was doing here? Unfortunately, a sudden light bulb seemed to go off inside of her head, instead of Tom’s, "Ah, I almost forgot! Have you seen Albus? It's deathly important that I find him as soon as possible."

"Why?" Frankie asked, sounding confused, but also serious. She could tell something was wrong. Mrs. Bagshot wouldn't return her gaze.

"I can't say, but—”

"What is it you've come for, Bathilda?"

There wasn't even any time to be shocked by the familiar voice that had snuck up to them without notice. It was the man she had been so desperate to find. Dumbledore emerged from the shadows and slowly approached the group, with little shock or intrigue.

"It's Gellert! He's coming for Hogwarts with a whole army of his followers." she shouted, in a panic. Tom and Frankie couldn't understand what she had meant, so they looked to Dumbledore for some kind of answer to all of this. Unfortunately, he looked just as confused as they were and, possibly even a little bit, frightened.

"Who is this Gellert?" Tom finally spoke up, after Dumbledore refused to answer her. Dumbledore looked rather ashamed and turned away. He would not even face them anymore.

"You two return to your rooms…" Dumbledore mumbled, finally. However, Tom wasn't about to just give up to this man so easily. Something was going on and he intended to find out what it was.

"No. Tell us what's going on!" Tom demanded, so loudly it made Frankie jump. She unlike him kept rather quiet and held a look as if she already understood what was happening.

"Might as well tell them, Albus. They'll find out soon enough, when there’s thousands of men attacking the castle…" Bathilda reasoned, surprisingly loosing most of the panicking energy she had earlier.

"Attack Hogwarts! Who would do such a thing?" Tom inquired, angrily.

"Gellert Grindelwald…" Dumbledore answered, grimly. Most people would not know of this terrifying dark wizard in Britain, but Tom had heard of him before. Being well-read had its advantages and cut out at least a little bit of the question chunk. Gellert Grindelwald’s reign was concentrated more in Bulgaria and Romania. Although, he certainly had the power to, for some odd reason he’d never touched Great Britain. Of course, they’d already had their hands full dealing with another insane dictator.

"The dark wizard. What does he want? Why is he going to attack—?”

"Relax, Tom. I will be able to stop him from coming anywhere near the castle." Dumbledore assured him.

"But how, Albus? As long as you're here—"

"Then, I'll just have to stop him before he makes it." he retaliated, cutting Bathilda off. He was acting as if he could handle this all alone, pushing the others away without explanation. It wasn’t very like him.

"Why? Don't you trust the school’s defenses?" Tom asked, irritated by Dumbledore's stubbornness.

"I trust the school’s defenses completely, Tom. But they still will not keep Grindelwald out indefinitely. He'll make it in eventually and it’ll put the student’s lives in jeopardy,” Dumbledore replied. “The student's protection is my top priority, which is why I must go and face him on my own."

"We don't need your protection. We can fight!" Tom shouted. For a second both Dumbledore and Frankie cracked small smiles, but it was only for a second. Dumbledore faced Tom with the same serious questioning face he always gave him, the one that Tom couldn't stand.

“Do you think you would be able to protect yourself, as well as your fellow classmates? Can you really play the hero, Tom?” Dumbledore asked. Everything was quiet. Was that something you were supposed to know at the age of seventeen? How to protect not only you, but everyone around you as well. Truthfully, Tom wouldn't want to protect most of the people that usually stood around them, but the old man would not want to hear that answer.

"I don't think I could, sir," Frankie spoke up, on his behalf. The group turned all their attention towards her. "However, I still want to get a chance to protect our home. If you're going off somewhere to fight this man, I want to go with you."

"Frankie, are you—"

"She can handle it, Albus. I taught her a thing or two, back a couple summers ago when she stayed in Godric’s Hollow. Besides, we'll need all the help we can get, considering we’re up against an army." Bathilda shouted, cutting Tom off with a renewed energy. Tom looked over at Frankie, hoping she would have a silent conversation with him, yet she had her gaze set straight on Dumbledore, with a whole new look in her eyes he’d never seen before. It was courageous, brave, and, in Tom’s opinion, an incredibly foolish look. It was the look of a Gryffindor and, upon seeing that look in this moment, Tom knew that he couldn't stop her. Frankie had already made up her mind about this. Even if he begged her to stay, he knew that she wouldn't.

"If she's going, then I'm going to..." Tom stated, clutching her hand tightly.  Dumbledore merely stared at them in a perplexed sort of gaze.

"Are you two willing to follow my every command? My every order, no matter what? If you disobey me even once, I will not be responsible for what happens to you.." Dumbledore questioned, feverously, like he was trying to make them turn back, afraid they had even said anything in the first place. "Knowing these rules, do you still want to come?"

"Yes."

Dumbledore’s expression turned serious and cold, as he started pacing back and forth.

"Very well then. We'll leave at the start of winter holiday. The both of you will act like you're going back to the orphanage for the vacation period. Bathilda, you know what needs to be done.” Bathilda nodded and started scurrying down the corridor. Dumbledore hurried the other way without saying another word and without looking back, leaving the two back alone at last. However, Tom was no longer in the mood for frivolous romance after what Frankie just signed them up for.

"What were you thinking, Frankie? Have you lost your mind?" Tom yelled at her, once he knew Dumbledore was out of earshot.

"No. I haven't," she replied, rather calmly. “What about you, Tom? You agreed to come too.”

“I didn’t want Dumbledore coming back telling me you're dead," Tom admitted. “I can’t protect this school, but I can protect you.”

"So, if I die, you want to see it?" Frankie inquired, in a cold and lifeless tone, as if she were already dying.

"When you die, is when I'll die." he smiled. However, unbeknownst to her, the phrase was anything but sweet and sentimental. Tom wouldn't be dying anytime soon. He had two Horcruxes and was in the process of getting more. He would simply come back if he was killed, but she wouldn't. There was only one of her and, after all the shit he had to go through to make it to where they were today, he wasn’t about to just lose her like that.

"Come on, let's go start packing with everyone else."

Of course, the Gryffindors went ballistic when Frankie got back to the room and started packing a small portion of her things inside her weekend pack.

"You always stay here! Where in the bloody hell do you think you are going all of a sudden?" Bina asked, outraged by the news Frankie had brought back to the dorm room.

"I can't tell you guys, but I promise I'll be back by the end of the break." Frankie replied, vaguely.

Before a room of voices could protest her statement, she ran back down to the common room. She feared if she had stayed she would have told them everything. It was not like Dumbledore had specifically told them not to tell. She just had a feeling that's wasn't what she was supposed to do. Knowing the Gryffindors, if she told them, they would most likely want to go fight too.

Frankie sat on the couch in front of the crackling fire. Was she really about to do this? It was suicidal and reckless. She knew that quite well, yet still wanted to go. Then, to make matters even worse, she dragged Tom into this as well. Tom wouldn't go if she didn't, she was knowingly forcing his life in danger, as well as hers. All for what? To bring down yet another dark wizard. Perhaps a little part of her wanted to die just like her parents and her sister, a noble sacrifice in a battle she knew she probably couldn’t win. Fighting against "the greater good", as Grigor and Grindelwald would’ve put it.

The sound of footsteps came from behind her but she was too frustrated to just get up and leave. She merely sunk deeper into the over-plush couch pillow, hoping it would sink her into a soft peaceful oblivion. It was nothing but nothing as far as the eye could see. She felt nothing all the thoughts and feeling exited her. It would have sunk her in completely if a deep voice hadn't been calling her out. It was saying her name louder and louder, until she was sitting back on the couch in the common room. Frankie got up reluctantly of the cushion and turned to face whoever was disturbing her from sinking into nothingness. Aidan stared at her from behind the couch, grimly clutching the Invisibility Cloak tightly in his arms.

"Well, what is it?" she asked, clearly irritated from the awakening. He thrust the cloak into her face, so all she could see was the dark fabric. Frankie took it in hand and stared at it blankly.

"Take it…I have a feeling you'll need it more than I do." he mumbled, weakly. He looked as though he was holding back his words, holding back what he truly wanted to say to her. However, she had an idea what he was trying to tell her with this gesture.

"How did you—"

"Quin and I were playing a prank on Pringle, when we overheard…"

"So, you two know where Tom and I are going and what we'll be doing?" she questioned, vaguely, not wanting to explain the situation in case that was not what they had heard. He nodded silently.

"It was an accident, I swear. To be honest, I really wish I hadn't heard..." he admitted. "Why are you doing this?"

"You would want to do it to, wouldn't you? You would want to fight." Frankie answered him, bluntly.

"Of course, I would. I'm not saying you shouldn't go,” Aidan replied, leaning over the couch to talk to her better. “At least tell them, Dylan and the girls."

"Why? So they can beg me not to go and make it even harder for me to leave." she answered, frustrated. He didn't understand how hard it was.

"Did you ever even think about the possibility of not coming back? What do you think it's going to be like when they don't hear from you all holiday? And they come back and you're not there waiting for them like always? You think they'll worry if you tell them, imagine how they'll be if you don't,” Aidan started in a yell that softened as he went on. He didn’t mean to be cruel to her, but Frankie just didn’t comprehend how serious this was. He’d spent most of his life hoping she was alive and the rumors of her escaping were true. Her living was something important, "It'll kill us if you don't come ever back…"

"Fine, I'll tell them, but I'll be back by the time everyone else comes back. There's no need to worry." she remarked, finally cracking a small smile. Frankie hopped up the sofa to hike back up the girl’s dorm steps. "I promise I'll come back safely to return your cloak."

_Bang!_

Another lifeless body hit the frosty forest floor with a thud. The pair making them all fall was weaving in and out of trees with excessive speed. Tom's thrills had never been so heightened, the adrenaline coursing through his veins. I'm sure yours would be too, if you were diving head first into a merciless battlefield. Another flash of red sparks lit from his side. The caster kept running alongside him without stopping to check her handy work. She was sure she had done it. To innocent to kill, she merely stunned, but he was different. It seemed like his wand would admit green flashes every time anyone would cross his sight. It was rather odd considering he wasn't even saying the spell. It's not like he had ever gotten much practice in doing the Killing Curse, besides killing off the rest of his living relatives. However, this was more like his wand was acting of its own accord. He gazed at Frankie for a lingering moment, while still keeping his running pace. She smiled at him. Usually, Tom would find this warming, but it seemed rather hollow and out of place. She wouldn't be smiling in a situation like this. He was forced to look away at the shadowy figure standing before them. The figure was no grunt like all the ones that they had taken down. He was the leader. The figure started shooting spells at them with no explanation. It was clear that they were not of his side. He wouldn't employ children. They did their best to dodge, but he was quick. He had sent a shot of green light at Tom when it happened. Just like that day seven years ago, she had so foolishly blocked Tom from the shot. But unlike the first time she didn't have a book to block her from the attack as well. It wouldn't have worked anyway. Again his wand seemed to attack on its own and hit her straight in the spine. It all happened so fast no one could tell whose curse had really done it. She was soon nothing but a lifeless corpse.

The nightmares should've stopped. So, why did they love seeping into his mind while he slept? What did his mind get out of pointlessly tormenting him? The room swam with morning light and all four of his roommates stared down at him.

"Shit! You woke him up Avery!" Lestrange hissed, in a hushed tone.

"No way! It was your fault." Avery yelled, quite normally. Might as well, considering Tom was already awake.

"It doesn't matter who it was! Why is there a crowd around my bed in the first place?" Tom yelled, sitting up. All of them stepped back a bit, but did not dare leave without an answer. Peter was the only one who had not moved.

"You were talking in your sleep again. Parseltongue…" Peter answered, for the group.

"Forget about it. Get ready to go." Tom demanded, still trying to shove the disturbing nightmare from his mind, along with his pesky roommates. It wasn't going to happen. It wasn't real.

A giant swarm of warming hugs and goodbyes could be seen in front of the train. It felt rather weird for Frankie to be heading there. She didn't even know why she was going. Dumbledore had told them that they should just get on the train and act like they were going back to the orphanage for winter holiday. She increased her speed to find Tom through the crowd of students struggling to get on the train. Then a hand suddenly grabbed hers from amongst the sea and started pulling her away. The hand suddenly clasped around her waist and she was outside the crowd.

"Stop drawing so much attention to yourself." She looked to see that Tom was actually the one with his arms wrapped around her. Although, she didn’t know why it surprised her so much. No one else would dare to do something like that to her, considering being the Heir of Slytherin's girlfriend. It was still rather odd to have him do something so touchy-feely, especially in clear public view.

"I wasn't drawing much attention, until you pulled me." she retaliated, trying to break from his grasp.

"Stupid, you don’t stop in the middle of the crowd like that.” Tom remarked, smugly.

"You know what—"

"I see you two are as lively as usual." Peter laughed, as he and Ellyn walked up next to them. Frankie did not seem to acknowledge their appearance.

"Wait a second, Peter." Frankie tugged Tom's shirt collar down forcing herself onto his lips. The first years literally stopped to gape, the second years started going into hushed whispers, the third years tried to avoid them, and the rest just stared at them rather jealously and enviously. "That's punishment for calling me stupid."

"What—kind of—punishment—was that?" was all he could manage under the color threatening to make its way onto his pale cheeks. Bold. When did she ever get that bold?

"My kind. Let's go unless you want to give the crowd another show," she smiled, coyly, before starting to walk along again. "Come on, Ellyn. You and Peter can share a compartment with us."

"Is that all you guys packed? Surely that can't fit all the things you need, especially if you're headed towards the Muggle world." Peter questioned, pointing at their backpacks. Tom turned away into the compartment. Frankie looked confused and then turning to Tom as soon as the thought struck her mind.

"You didn't tell them, Tom?" she asked, sounding a little outraged. Unknowingly, but most likely suspected by Tom, she had told all her friends about her whereabouts over the break.

"Of course not. Professor Dumbledore wouldn't want us leaking such vital information." he answered, crossly.

"But, don't you think your friends might want to know what was going on?"

"No…" Tom answered. Well, it was true. They probably did want to know he was off to fight in a battle, but not because they cared about his wellbeing. Odd are if he died, which was of course not possible, but if it were to happen Malfoy or Lestrange would take over within hours.

"I do! You can trust us. We would never sell you out to anyone." Peter objected. A moment of silence went by after this sudden raise in voice. He was one of those people, like Frankie, who hardly ever raised their voice. But when they did it was sure one hell of a spectacle.

"You can tell them, Frankie. Although, don't blame me if you get into trouble." Tom added, finally. He was rather impressed with what Peter had said for some reason. Perhaps, because he was finally showing he had some sort of spine. Frankie began telling the rather short story of a few days before.

"Wow. You guys are so brave!" Peter gaped, once the story was finally finished.

"Not really. Were just tagging along with Mrs. Bagshot and Professor Dumbledore." Frankie remarked, modestly.

"Yeah, but that's a whole lot more than anyone else is doing. I wish we were getting the chance to fight though." Peter said, raising his fist into the air like some sort of righteous hero.

Suddenly, the train started to slow down and they could all see the platform appearing through the sea of hazy steam and fog. The train ride was over and it was time.

"Come on, Frankie. It's time to go now." Tom stated, as the train had halted to a stop. He put his arm around her shoulder and started escorting her from the compartment. Ellyn got up and block his path. She looked to be on the verge of tears and was surprisingly able to fling her arms around both of them.

"Be safe, Frankie. You too, Tom,” Ellyn sniffled. Tom held a look that was neither disgust nor pleasure and of course Frankie held her dazzlingly warm smile as always. “Please come back safely."

"Relax, Ellyn. We'll be back before you know it." Frankie answered, reassuringly, even though she couldn't guarantee that. She had been saying that to everyone, but it wasn't something she could really promise.

The two stepped out onto the platform. Besides the cold, London winter air, it was just like it had been back in September. The same bustling students and parents who had come to support them. When they went through the barrier it would be the same to. The same odd stares, the same hushed whispers, and even the same yelling guard.

"Are you ready?" she asked him, like always. He wasn't ready, he never was. Just something about this time just felt too odd, something didn't feel right. Frankie was able to sense the small sliver of nervousness in him. "Let's go together then."

They ran through together as planned, but when they got to the other side they had seen a sight so shockingly the same. A loud gasp came from Tom's side and she clasped his hand tighter. He couldn't blame her. There, standing just there, was Mrs. Cole.


	49. Old Friends

They both seemed to be in paralyzed silence. It's not like they were afraid of this women, they never had been and never would be, but this was just somewhat unsettling and odd. They honestly thought they would never have to see her again and there she was. Although, she had obviously just seen them come hurdling through a pillar, she wasn’t having a panic attack. Mrs. Cole appeared to be staring straight at them, actually _smiling_. When she smiled it was kind of like when Tom tried smiling when he really didn’t mean it. It just didn't look natural at all, it almost looked menacing.

"My, you two got back rather later than I expected. I hope I'll be able to make supper in time…" she smiled, in a terrifyingly chipper voice. The two unconsciously took two steps back.

"You came here for us?" Tom questioned, even though it was quite obvious.

"Of course I did, dear! Why else would I be here?" Mrs. Cole answered, cheerily.

"But it's winter. We never used to come home for winter holiday. Also, we turned seventeen a while ago, meaning we don't live at the orphanage anymore." Tom tried arguing. It proved to be very ineffective.

"Nonsense! You two always come home for this time of year. Remember last year I gave you two a bit of wine and you went a—Well, let's just say Tom got a bit tipsy and started singing Christmas carols—"

"I did no such thing!" Tom shouted, in a humiliated tone. Frankie was holding her hand over her mouth, looking at first like she was about to be sick. However, she really couldn't restrain a hysterical fit of laughter at the image of a drunken Tom singing Christmas songs.

"Come on, Tom! Don't you remember?" Frankie laughed jokingly, tugging on his sleeve.

"Would you be quiet? There's obviously something mentally wrong with her." Tom hissed, in hopes changing the subject would forever erase the image from her mind.

"I could tell that much. What do you think we should do?" she asked, finally subsiding from the shrieks of laughter. They both walked a teensy bit away from Mrs. Cole while she was too distracted listing off all the groceries she would need for supper to notice.

"I don't know. Dumbledore told us to act like we were going back to the orphanage, not actually go there." Tom whispered, still looking over at Mrs. Cole with suspicion. Perhaps, she'd just leave if they disappeared. Sadly, she was too dazed to notice them leaving her at all.

"So, you think it's a trap or something?" Frankie asked, following Tom's gaze over to Mrs. Cole as well.

"I'm not sure. How would they figure out this information when it was planned inside of Hogwarts? Also, why go after us?"

"Perhaps they believe we’re weak." she guessed. Most likely if this was a trap, she would be right. If Grindelwald somehow found about two "children" being on Dumbledore's side, it would make sense to go after them first.

"Well, their dead wrong. Just because we’re a bit younger doesn't mean we’re—"

"What are you two whispering about over there? It's time to go!" Mrs. Cole yelled, once she spotted them again.

"We’re coming, Mrs. Cole!" Tom yelled back. He noticed Frankie still held an uncertain look, as they both walked to meet her. _"We'll be alright. Let's go with her."_

They followed behind her as Mrs. Cole skipped not far in front of them, still holding a creepily happy smile. The trip back to the orphanage seemed no different than it had been in the past. They took the same route, saw the same sights. Nothing was different besides her attitude. They creaked to a halt at the place that would never change its familiarity no matter how much they wanted it to. Tom glared at it as all the memories of suffering and loneliness came rushing back to him at once. He had never wanted to return here, not even for a moment. It was a horrid and torturous place to him all his life. Tom suddenly felt like punching the structure and, although he wasn't remotely strong whatsoever, having it fall down at his touch. However, as Frankie clutched tightly on to the arm, he so desperately wanted to punch the orphanage with, he remembered he wasn't the only one who had suffered this place. She had made it a little bit more bearable back then. It was because of her that he didn't waste away here long ago.

"Come this way! Don't act like such strangers. You've only been away a few months." Mrs. Cole called, gesturing for them to walk a little faster. They did so, but still made it a point to have her go somewhat in front of them.

"Stay close to me…"

Cautiously, they walked up to the orphanages front door. Where were all the kids? All the employers? Suddenly, a great flash of red stunned Mrs. Cole. A figure caught her as she fell to the ground. Tom stepped into the house shooting red sparks from his own wand but the figure blocked it all with one swish of his wand. As his blurred vision became clearer, he saw the man he was shooting at was Dumbledore.

"I see you've been practicing your non-verbal spells, Tom." Dumbledore smiled.

"Not really. Lucky shot, I suppose." Tom murmured, stuffing his wand back into his pocket.

"Modest as always, I see." Dumbledore laughed, as if he hadn't seen him in years rather than a day ago.

"What are you doing here?" Tom asked, hoping it would fill in some of the mystery. This was one of the reasons why he wasn't very fond of Dumbledore. He never explained anything. He always left everything up to chance when explaining the situation would be a whole lot easier.

"Oh, I hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty of making this the meeting place for everyone." Dumbledore answered.

"Everyone?"

A sudden crash from the down the hallway made Tom and Frankie both flinch. They both withdrew their wands from their pockets, however Dumbledore remained quite calm.

"Honestly, the only thing that has changed from your school days is your size! I swear you've gotten ten times taller." a voice yelled, from down the hallway.

"Sorry. I'll go wait out in the back…"

You could hear something stomp its way to the backyard. It sounded more like a giant then a person. It only took Frankie a second to find out who it was, leaving Tom and Dumbledore standing in the foyer she ran to meet him.

"Hagrid!" Frankie shouted, excitedly, as she saw him examining the small white table. She ran as fast as she could and collided into the arms of her old friend. He had regained is cheery disposition and size from being in Azkaban. He was no longer gaunt and weary. Thankfully, no longer in chains either. Tom and Dumbledore appeared a few seconds later. Tom scowled at the sight of him. Her voice turned groggy and weak. "When did you get out? I've missed you so much…"

"Frankie…I've missed you too…"he smiled, slightly lifting her of the ground as he hugged her back.

"When did you get out?" she asked again, swishing her legs back and forth in the air.

"Not too long ago actually," Hagrid answered. "But it's all thanks to you they let me out. I can't thank you enough."

"What? But my attitude, the way I acted…I should've been the reason they locked you up for good." she protested.

"Don't say that! You spoke the truth and they couldn't find a flaw in that even if they tried. Besides, they still didn't let me get away scot free. They destroyed my wand. I’m no allowed to do magic anymore." he explained.

"What? But that's awful! How are you supposed to help us?" Frankie asked. Hagrids eyes shifted over to a pink umbrella lying against the wall next to the back door.

"Oh, that's easy. I—"he started. However, finally noticing Tom standing over by Dumbledore made him go silent. "I'll tell ya' later…"

"Anything you can say to her you can say to me, Rubeus." Tom smirked, sitting down in his usual spot at the table. If Hagrid wasn't looking at Tom, you would think he was trying to crush Frankie to death.

"You know what, Riddle—"

"Hagrid, what are you—"The person who held the first voice came drifting out from the house. Her black hair was tied up in a neat bun and she held rather stern expression. However, despite her professional appearance she nearly screamed when she saw who was basically being picked up Hagrids arms. "Frankie!"

"Minerva. What are you doing here? Aren't you working at the ministry now?" Frankie questioned, as Hagrid set her back to the ground to go see her.

"Ah, yes. Well, Dumbledore offered and I couldn't just turn it down. The ministry is rather boring anyway. I'm sure they will do just fine without me for a few days." Minerva sighed, sounding bored just talking about it. Did she not enjoy her ministry job? It had always been her dream to work there. Frankie sat down in her usual spot at the table with Tom. He smiled as she sat. It felt just like old times. This was the place they first met too. He had been sitting right here and she had been sitting right there.

_Crack!_

"Honestly, can't you get over it Ab it was years ago? Besides, now at least you're getting the chance to avenge your sister." A voice argued from inside the house.

"She won't be avenged unless he's dead too…"

Bathilda appeared in the backyard with someone following behind her. At first glance he looked like Dumbledore's twin. He had, like Dumbledore, greying auburn hair. However, on closer examination his nose was straight, he had no half-moon spectacles and had to be at least a good foot shorter than him.

"Ah, Albus there you are! We got a bit lost on the way here. I've never been to well with Disapparition…Well anyway, I've brought him! It took a lot of convincing but I got him." she explained, almost sounding like she had kidnapped him.

"Who are all these people?" the man asked, quite frankly, looking around at everyone with hate.

"Ah, well that's Minerva McGonagall, that one's Rubeus Hagrid, I'm not so sure about that one over there, I think it's something like Tim, and that's Frankie Dickson. She was Elizabeth and Francis’s second daughter." Bathilda explained. He searched around as if someone was hiding in the bushes, as if it were some kind of joke.

"They're all a bunch of kids." the man stated, bluntly, making Tom and Minerva give him vicious glares.

"I am not a kid! I happen to work at the Ministry of Magic for your information." Minerva stated, proudly. The man gave a mad cackle.

"Ha! That fact just makes you a down right toddler. Do you know how many dumb kids go into the ministry right after school? It's a fool's job over there." the man laughed. “A breeding ground for pompous morons.”

"Who are you to be talking? I’ve seen you before. You run the Hog's Head inn and—"

"Excuse me, sir. I don't mean to be rude, but who are you?" Frankie interrupted. He turned his attention towards her.

"The name is Aberforth Dumbledore. Yes, I run the Hog’s Head Inn and I'm proud of it. There ain't nothing wrong with my business, unlike the corruption of the ministry." he answered. Minerva steamed with fury.

"Why you—"

"Come now, everyone. I think it's about time we get going. Before this starts taking a turn for the worst." Dumbledore smiled, clapping his hands to grab the fighting comrade's attention. "We'll be using Side-Along Apparition into Marsh Forest, just along the border. I'll be taking Frankie and Tom. Aberforth, Bathilda, and Minerva, you will all be taking Hagrid. He was unable to take his tests this year, so we must do all we can to make sure he isn't hurt.”

Dumbledore held out his arms as if he was sitting in an armchair, while Aberforth, Bathilda and Minerva grasped on to Hagrid. Frankie reluctantly got up from her seat took one last look around, kind of wishing she got to explore a bit more. In some ways she missed sitting out here with Tom all day. Tom and her each grabbed one of Dumbledore's arms and with one crack, the familiar scene vanished and everything went blurred.


	50. Real World Experiences

Their feet buckled onto the frosty forest floor a couple seconds later. The air suddenly smelled fresher, the wind suddenly blew colder and wilting trees surrounded them. Dumbledore and Frankie looked to the side to find the others appear a few feet away. Hagrid looked like he was going to be sick to his stomach, which was rather normal for your first time Disapparating. At least it was better than getting splinched. Tom felt a sick feeling as well but he did his best to hold it in. If he just ignored it, it would go away. Hagrid unfortunately couldn’t take it and ran off towards some bushes and thickets.

"I'm surprised you two aren't like Hagrid right now." Dumbledore remarked, as they let go of his arms. Although, they had taken all the tests, for their first real time Disapparating they should've felt sick to their stomach too. Frankie didn't show any clear signs of being ill, while Tom's face seemed to be growing paler by the minute.

"We aren't like him." Tom managed to say, in a tone of fine superiority. Frankie glowered at him with anger. He hurried to fix his mistake, but it really didn't work. "I mean he's younger and half-giant. He's not even supposed to be Disapparating—"

The sudden urge to vomit became overcoming. Ever since he had created the second Horcrux his body hadn't been the same as it had been before. True a lot weaker than it had been, but usually was fine unless under serious strain. All he could do was run and hide, so he wouldn't do it in front of all those people. Of course, they would still be able to hear him. Although, he doubted they'd hear him over Hagrid. He wasn't too far away from Tom doing the exact same thing.

"It appears they aren't so different after all…" Dumbledore stated to Frankie, as they both were looking off into the direction in which Tom had gone. She smiled back at him, but yet still stared worriedly in the direction of Tom. He noticed this and smiled at her fondly. "I think I'll go help with the tents…"

It didn't take Tom too long to come back. He still held his hand in front of his either out of shame and embarrassment or the fear of going all over again.

"Are you ok?" she asked, offering a sympathetic hand. But he pushed it away. He felt utterly weak and didn't want her to see him right now in such a pathetic state.

"Honestly, I'm fine. Stop fretting about it so much." Tom snapped, walking past her towards the area that they were setting up the tents. She followed after him, but he didn't acknowledge her gaze. He felt too weak and tired. "It's like Professor Dumbledore said. We’re supposed to feel sick the first time."

"I don't." Frankie stated.

"There must be something wrong with you then." he muttered, just loud enough for her to hear him. Even though a very cruel thing to say to her she would not get angry with him. She _could_ not get angry with him. He knew this for a fact. Yet Frankie stopped following him immediately after he said this, with a rather blue sort of expression. He merely breezed past Mrs. Bagshot and Dumbledore, trying desperately hard not to turn his head back to gaze at her. However, Mrs. Bagshot grabbed his collar, pulled him towards the rather down looking girl and nonchalantly shoved him next to her. He unwillingly got caught in her magnetic gaze and blushed slightly. She cracked a small smile.

"Come on, dears. Albus and I are going to teach you three a couple things they don't teach in school." Mrs. Bagshot smiled, unknowingly popping their small little bubble.

Dumbledore was teaching Hagrid most of the things he missed while not in school, without a wand of course. But for some reason he held a tight clutch on that pink umbrella. Tom was too busy practicing what Mrs. Bagshot had told them to notice the occasional rapid swish Hagrid gave it. Frankie on the other hand gave a silent look of understanding towards Hagrid. Most likely Tom wouldn't let the two speak alone, so he wouldn't get the chance to explain the matter later.

"Very good. Now, let's move on to the Patronus Charm. You two do know what that is, don't you?" Mrs. Bagshot stated, once the rapid firing of different spells desisted. The two exchanged knowing glances at each other. Both of them had discussed the charm many times before.

"Yes. The Patronus Charm is a positive force used to repel dark creatures, such as Dementors." Frankie answered, brightly. She had always been interested in this particular spell and naturally had studied everything about it.

"Short and simple, but it gets the main point across. I'd rather not go into the long conversation of the spiritual connections that are connected to Patronus. Now there isn't enough time for you to learn how to do a corporal Patronus so for now non-corporal." Mrs. Bagshot explained, waving her hands animatedly as she spoke. Tom knew that wouldn't stop Frankie from trying to do a corporal one. She had always been so curious to find out what animal would be her 'spirit guardian', despite Tom's prediction. Tom couldn't help but wonder what his animal would be as well. Most likely it would be a snake. It made the most sense. He was related to Salazar Slytherin, he could speak Parseltongue, and it was the animal that fit his personality the most.

"Now all you need to cast a Patronus is a happy thought—"

"Just any happy thought?" both Tom and Frankie questioned, in voices of matching confusion. It couldn’t have been something so simple.

"Not just any happy thought! It has to be something so over-filled with happiness, that when you think about it you can't help but cheer up." she added, a bit huffily. Searching through the memories wasn't hard to find the one that made Tom feel the happiest, he didn’t have many. He gathered that Frankie was having a much harder time figuring out which one of her memories made her the happiest. "Picture this happy thought or memory and say the incantation 'Expecto Patronum'."

He pictured the cool summer breeze slightly messing up his tidy neat hair and rustling the sunlit trees. A surprising tingle shivering up his spine as the bushes seem to rustle after the summer winds passing. He had caught a small glimpse at the cause, before she ducked into bushes, attempting to conceal her arrival. Even at such a young age, this had not fooled him and he promptly told her so. She sat down un-invited, the girl about his age, and started jabbering away like they were already very acquainted. She was not afraid, she was different, and for the moment they spoke he forgot his surroundings. He forgot how his mum was dead, how he was stuck in this orphanage, and how he had been left all alone with nothing. She interlocked her pinky in his and made him promise that once she was free from her chains they would meet again. He hated to admit he had shoved this memory far back into his mind but then again, although not really her fault, she had to dive into a pensive to get the memory back. But it didn't matter now. They had both kept their promise in the end.

"Expecto Patronum!" they both shouted. Too both of their great surprise a great showering light was emitted from their wands and surrounded the frigid air above them. Their Patronuses vanished after a few minutes, Tom's a bit sooner than Frankie's. Mrs. Bagshot stood with a dumbfounded expression. Clearly, like most people, she did not expect them to do so well on their first try.

"Excellent! As expected of the Head Girl and Boy. You two can do anything with ease." she clapped, even though clearly she had underestimated their abilities.

"I'm not so sure about that, ma'am." Tom replied, modestly. Frankie nodded in agreement.

"Well, you two keep practicing it. I'm going to get started with supper." Mrs. Bagshot smiled, looking at her watch and retreating back towards the camp. The two were left alone once again.

"What are you thinking about? I bet it has something to do with me. Doesn't it?" Tom teased, using the best of this rare alone time. She didn't really have to answer him though. The look on her face told him everything he needed to know.

"It's none of your business." she stated, in a rather defiant for-a-matter-of-fact voice. A voice that only she would dare to address him. Anyone else would've been too afraid. "How can you be so sure? Maybe I'm thinking about my time with Quin."

"Liar. You're not allowed to think about other guys, especially that moron." Tom stated, like he actually had some sort of control over her thoughts. But suddenly realizing he did not have that control, he might as well have gone to the next best thing. "I've been studying Legilimency too, you know. Perhaps, going into your mind would be good practice."

"Legilimency? You're the one who's lying. I know you aren't that good." Frankie retaliated, even though she had no idea of what he was capable of. Surely, if he was capable of murder he was quite capable of penetrating her mind.

"You really want to test me?" he threatened, raising his wand to tell her he meant business. Although, he really was just joking. Not saying it wouldn't be fun to dive into her mind, it was just he pretty much knew everything inside of it already. She giggled a little, knowing it was somewhat of a joke.

"Come on, let's continue practicing. I want to figure out how to do corporals' before she comes back!" Frankie smiled, quickly changing the subject. She started flourishing her wand rather nervously and creating nothing but small sparks. Her nervous attitude made Tom want to laugh. She was so strange. One moment she would be confident and strong and the next she'd be so shy she'd just want to hide under a rock. The sound would not be emitted though. A warm laugh was becoming even further beyond his reach for some reason.

"Supper!" Mrs. Bagshot shouted over the firing of spells and the distant arguing of Abe and Minerva. They all answered the call immediately. Despite the fact that Tom didn't really enjoy anyone there except Frankie, he was anything but quiet at supper. They were talking to him and joking around and surprisingly he didn't yell at anyone. Of course, Hagrid still ignored him, but that was to be expected. The whole thing gave him a weird feeling.

Later that night, as everyone was sleeping, Tom snuck out in the pitch back, trying not to wake the other patrons of the boy's tent. He weaved throughout the trees making as little sound as possible. There was snow starting to fall from the sky. It surely must've been Christmas already.

_"Expecto Patronum…Expecto Patronum…Expecto Patronum…"_

Over and over again he repeated it in the darkness. Tom had never been one to practice a spell like this, but he couldn't help but wonder what animal might appear. It was bothering him. Perhaps, he didn't have one and would just be forced to have a non-corporal one forever. It was amazing he could even produce the spell at all really. His soul was split in two and he was planning on splitting it more. Someone like him shouldn't have any powerful, happy memories.

_Just focus…_

"Expecto Patronum!" A white light was spit out from the wand. The light was forming something, but it Tom wasn't able to make it out quite yet. It was just a floating white blob. Then suddenly it was inches from his face, staring at him with its cold empty eyes. He was suddenly staring face-to-face with a glittery white rabbit.

_What?_

This didn't make any sense at him at all. The crackling of leaves made both him and the rabbit flinch. A figure was making its way through the darkness towards them. As the figure drew nearer the rabbit started to fade.

"Wait!" Tom yelled, trying to grab it in his hands.

But the rabbit did not listen. It left Tom in the darkness. However, a wand tip illuminated the area a second after. Although, he had obviously hoped for someone else's face to be illuminated in the wand light, he stood face-to-face with Dumbledore.

"What are you doing here, professor?" Tom asked, irritated. But of course, no matter how angry Tom was at him, he merely smiled.

"Just going for a midnight stroll like you, Tom. I see you were practicing your Patronus." Dumbledore smiled, with a sort of fondness in his voice.

"I was just curious. That's all, sir." Tom answered, stowing away his wand back into his pocket.

"About your Patronus. Well, I suppose it can be a rather curious thing..."he answered, weakly. He surely must've seen Tom's Patronus in the pitch dark. Did he find it odd as well?

"You saw it didn't you, sir? Why is it like that? That can't possibly be my animal—"

"I'm afraid I can't explain this phenomenon," Dumbledore stated, yet a look on his face said otherwise. He knew precisely what Tom was referring too, but like always decided to leave it mostly a mystery. A mystery, with only one clue, that Tom would either figure out or not. Everything just had to be a secret with this man. He started walking back through the trees, but then suddenly turned back to him, "But can you think of anyone else who reminds you of this animal, someone rather close? Perhaps, your true animal changed before you even got the chance to meet it."

"I understand, sir." he answered back. For the first time, Tom really had understood what Dumbledore had implied. The clue had not aggravated him into wanting to scream at Dumbledore. The rabbit made perfect sense now. However, it was still a little unsettling to see those feelings he’d always been trying to suppress actually solidified before him. They were real.

Tom greeted Frankie the next morning, like last night had not happened, and as far as she was concerned he was fast asleep with the other men. She didn't even answer back, just looked at him. Her eyes were drooped and tired, her cheeks were red as cherries. Slowly, she slumped onto his shoulder, making Tom go a bit red himself.

"My hair is on fire. Isn't it, Tom?" Frankie managed to say, with what seemed like extreme difficulty.

"No, it’s not. Are you alright?" he stated, looking at her rather confused. The others were staring at them now. Usually, it would have been followed by a bit of teasing of their slight lovey-dovey ness, but they could sense that something was not right.

"Let me see her.…" Mrs. Bagshot added, rushing over to check her head. It was just as she suspected, "Oh dear, she's got a fever."

"Idiot! You can't get sick now!" Tom shouted at her. She cringed at the sound of his loud, angry voice. It most likely had just made her feel all the worst.

"I don't think she could help it, dear." Mrs. Bagshot stated, sympathetically. She detached Frankie off of Tom's shoulder and started escorting her back to the tent, but Tom was not finished with her.

"She pushed herself to much yesterday. You got sick yesterday after Disapparating, didn't you? Then, you did all that practicing." he yelled, trying to pull her back towards him so he could finish his angry rant.

"I'm alright, Tom." she muttered, not at all convincingly. It could've just been him overacting, but to him she looked even worse than he had yesterday.

"No, you're not. How do you expect to fight like this?" Tom argued, as Mrs. Bagshot once again took her from him. He would've followed them into the tent if a hand had not been placed on his shoulder.

"Calm yourself, Tom. It's just a cold. It's not like she's been cursed or has lost any bones. Bathilda and I will have her well by tomorrow." Dumbledore smiled, speaking in his normal mellow voice. "In the meantime, I wonder if you would take my place for today’s mission..."

An hour later or so Tom sat crouched with Minerva and Aberforth within just feet of Grindlewald's camp. The mission Dumbledore was supposed to go on was one to see what the other side was up to. All they could see were sickly grimy looking men patrolling the grounds with wands in hand. They had decided any closer would get them caught, unless the excessive amount of noise Minerva and Aberforth were producing fighting again wouldn't do it first.

"I can't believe I have to go all the way out here with you. Tom, I can handle—"

"Why can you handle him, but not me? He just called your friend an idiot and was yelling at her." Aberforth snapped, interrupting Minerva mid-sentence. He was trying to keep whispering, but his anger was getting the better of him.

"You don't know either of them! It's quite normal." Minerva yelled back at him. Tom held up his finger trying to get them to be silent without him having to raise his voice as well, but no one paid him any attention.

"That doesn't sound normal at all. I thought they were supposed to be sweet on each other. It just sounds cruel to me." Aberforth yelled, seeming to not be aware Tom was right there and was now glaring at him as Minerva was. Although, he was still the one to remain silent.

"You blistering old—"Minerva started, raising her wand reflexively at Aberforth. He did the same as her, but then Tom stepped in between them with an even angrier expression than either of the two.

"Will the both of you desist this constant bickering? If the two of you get us caught, I swear I'll—”

"There's no use in making death threats, boy. Most likely if were caught, they'll do the deed for you." Aberforth smirked at him.

"Just shut up then! You—” Tom started to retort angrily back at him, but was unable to finish as an unrecognizable voice interrupted him,

"For spies, you know, you’re rather loud."

 The breezy voice had drifted in from behind them. They all quickly turned their wands at the arrival of another person, but before they could even see them they were bodies were all bound together by a hex. When they could see him though he looked nothing like they expected, or at least how Tom and Minerva had. Aberforth had gone straight into a deathly glare that made him look like he was going to explode with anger at any moment. His golden blonde hair curled that onto his broad shoulders and his light blue eyes made him look more like prince charming then a villain. He didn’t seem like the other men, he was prouder, stronger. They must have been caught by the great dark wizard himself, Gellert Grindelwald. "Ah, Aberforth. How wonderful to see you again…"

"Drop dead, you bastard!" Aberforth boomed in anger, so loudly that even Tom couldn't help flinch a little. Both Tom and Minerva looked back and forth between the two in confusion. It seemed a little too much of an overreaction.

"Now is not the time for your bad mouth, Abe!" Minerva added, desperately, in an attempt to get him to just shut up.

"No, it's quite alright. Aberforth and I are old friends, you see." Grindelwald smiled, waving a hand dismissively at her comment. Noticing their leader had captured some intruders, the other men on patrol crowded the spot to further contain the already spell bounded people.

"The troops are almost ready, sir. We will be leaving shortly for Hogwarts castle." a man saluted, as he arrived at the scene a few seconds after the crowd. He was not there for the prisoners. However, Grindelwald waved his notion away.

"That will no longer be necessary. I think our guests will be happy to sit down for a cup of tea and tell us why my dear, Albus, has sent them." Grindelwald remarked gesturing for the men to follow him.

" _My dear_ _?”_ Tom thought to himself, as he was basically being carried over to a tent resting in the center of camp. Why was he talking that way about Dumbledore if he hated him and was trying to kill him? The entered the tent to find yet another giant enclosure that clearly did not match the size of the tent, like the ones they had back at camp. They were sat down at a large table that was probably the length of a house table at school. It already had four rather expensive looking tea cups waiting for them with a fresh pot of tea.

"You two look rather surprised. Do not worry, just because your allegiance lies with my Albus, I will not kill you. I only want him," Grindelwald explained, as he took the seat at the head of the table. Grindelwald had released the bounds, on them so they could drink. Although, he had just said he would not kill them, both Tom and Minerva made it a point not to actually drink any of the tea. Aberforth was too busy struggling violently and swearing to even notice they were having tea at all. It appeared Grindelwald knew better then to release his old friend, "Besides, the spilling of magical blood would be such a waste."

"What exactly your history with Dumbledore?" Tom asked, curiously but confidently. Aberforth finally stopped his swearing and let out a cruel dry laugh. Tom had seen Abe get quite angry,  but this was a whole new level, even above Tom's rage level. Whatever had happened between the three must have been something terrible.

"What's your name, boy?" Grindelwald asked, returning Tom's curiosity.

"Tom Riddle." Tom answered, politely. He was not afraid to give his real name to Grindelwald. Tom had no family left to hurt, all of them were dead. The most recent even by his own hand. The only thing he had to hurt Grindelwald could not possibly already know of.

"You seem a bit young to be working for Albus. Why are you here?"

“I'm just doing him a favor. That's all.” Tom answered, quite civilly, again. This man was weird to him. He had the looks of a prat like Malfoy, yet he acted exactly like Tom. Although, he was supposed to be their enemy, Tom might’ve actually respected him.

"How very generous of you," Grindelwald smiled, in return. "However, it might not have been such a good idea to bring along your precious sweetheart. Something might happen to her, if you’re not careful…"

"Where'd you get that from? That's not—"

"Like I said earlier, you really must practice your spying. It's rather bad." he added, but I sounded like he should have replaced ‘spying’ with 'lying'.

"It was their fault, not mine!" Tom growled angrily, getting to his feet. Grindelwald raised his eyebrow at Tom's sudden burst of anger. Tom noticed his examining eyes, sat back down, and sipped his tea like nothing had happened. "Do you have spies of your own?"

"Well, Tom, you sure ask a lot of questions for your age." he laughed, calmly, but yet looked to be restraining something. His face twitched, clearly suppressing his annoyance at Tom.

"I apologize if it annoys you, sir. It's just how I am." Tom answered, again with a strange politeness in his voice.

"You shouldn't apologize to him! Or call him 'sir'! He's a no good low life." Aberforth yelled, immediately after Tom’s comment. He was right. Tom shouldn't be so polite to the man they were supposed to fighting against. However, the small respect for the villainous man just kept coming and clouding his rude snarky attitude.

"Aberforth, please calm down. He's not doing anything to us. Stop being so unreasonable!" Minerva protested, but of course he wouldn't listen to her.

"Don't worry, miss. I can calm him down—”Grindelwald raised his wand, _“Imperio!"_ he whispered, with an oddly calm and relaxed voice for doing one of the Three Unforgivable Curses. Suddenly, Aberforth went silent and stopped resisting. He merely stared straight ahead in a trance like state. Grindelwald gave a small satisfied smile at his handy work and simply sipped his tea. "And to answer your question, Tom, yes. I do have a few spies of my own."

"What have they told you?" Tom asked, glaring at him a bit.

"Well, they've told me of course about the young witch from the ministry, the half-giant, and my dear great aunt. However, you two are the particularly interesting discovery,” Grindelwald explained, "They tell me that you and that girl of yours might actually be a problem for me.”

"I haven't noticed any of them." was all Tom could think to say to his statement. He did not wanting to get into a conversation about her, especially with Grindelwald. He knew she was out there, he knew their connection and he could easily kill her if he wanted too.

"You haven't? I'm surprised. Albus has been taking them out almost every time I send them." he replied, sounding generally surprised.

"He hasn't said anything about spies." Tom admitted, although he didn't think it was from the sip of tea he had accidently been drinking out of habit. Of course, Dumbledore had been out last night and Tom didn’t get the chance to ask him why. There was also all the ‘bathroom’ trips he made during supper. How did Grindelwald even know they were here? It had barely been twenty-four hours.

"I suppose he doesn't want to scare you. It's typical Albus." Grindelwald sighed, dryly. Tom found it very weird how this man spoke about Dumbledore. He actually knew the typical Albus Dumbledore. His feelings, his family, his joys, his discomforts, his attitude, his love. Tom knew none of those things and he had known Dumbledore for years now. It was the only way that Tom found they were alike. Dumbledore bottled all those things up and put on a charming façade.

"What do you want from us, from Dumbledore?" Tom asked, in an attempt for all of this to end. Aberforth had just broken the Imperius curse at that moment and was now beginning to be aware of his surroundings. It was for the best to leave anyway.

"I suppose, I'll make this quick then," Grindelwald stated, eyeing Aberforth a little as he got up from his chair. "Give this message to, Albus. I really do not wish for anyone else to fight. In six days, I will meet him for one final duel, just him and I. He will find it a charming Christmas gift, I’m sure.”

With a message to convey, they left without incident. However, they still felt complied to be on their guards as they exited the base, clutching their wands tightly in their pockets. Once they returned to the camp, they told Dumbledore everything that had happened,

"Do you think he'll keep his word?" Mrs. Bagshot asked, regarding the news.

"Most likely not, I'm afraid. Even if he succeeds in winning the duel, he will kill you all if you do not join him." Dumbledore answered, grimly. He let out a heavy sigh, before pacing off towards the trees. Aberforth did the same, except with an angrier expression, in the opposite direction. Minerva and Mrs. Bagshot kept on discussing things as they wondered off through the trees as well. Apparently everyone but Tom needed walks to clear their heads. Even though night was falling at that very moment, Tom had a feeling they all wouldn't be coming back very soon. However, he was not alone. Frankie exited the tent a few minutes later with a confused expression as to why everyone was missing.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, worried, trying hard not to act like he had this morning. He was being irrational. He knew that. It was just that wretched nightmare sticking to his mind.

"I'm alright now. Thanks for asking." she smiled, so brightly it could've melted snow off the ground. She did look a lot better than she had this morning, but Tom couldn't help but slightly worry.

"Are you sure? It's cold. You really shouldn't be out here." Tom replied, still taking the worried approach. If he had a jacket himself, he probably would've given it to her. The snow was not falling as heavy, but it still showered the ground in a thin white blanket.

"If I'm not allowed to worry about you, you're not allowed to worry about me." Frankie stated, doing her best to imitate Tom's strict voice. It did actually sound like something he would say.

"You're a lot more accident prone then I am. I can't help but worry…" They both lay on the snow covered ground looking up at the night sky. The cold shivered up their spines at first, but after a while it didn't bother them. Since, she’d been out of the loop all day, he decided it would tell her about the mission.

"Is Dumbledore really going to face Grindelwald all by himself?" she asked, after he finished telling her about his encounter with Grindelwald. He had made it a point to leave the small part about her out.

"Probably, but he's stronger than Grindelwald. I think he'll be alright facing him alone." Tom answered, hoping it would stop the conversation from turning in the direction it was going. He did not want her to fight and he would do all he could to make sure she didn't have to.

"What about after that? Their side will not just retreat like that. Win or lose, they shall put up a fight." Frankie answered, like she had seen the men with her own eyes. Tom couldn't deny that she was right. A battle would be happening either way and they would be fighting in it.

"We'll be able to take them." he answered, confidently. Although, he really didn't mean the 'we' part. It was not like he didn't believe she could fight for herself, it was mostly the nightmare that was clouding his judgment. His dreams had a strange prophetic air to them. In some odd ways, they symbolized the bad things to come in the near future. Tom had never had a good dream about Frankie. He sat up suddenly, making her sit up too. "Promise no matter what happens you won't take any shots for me."

"Why do you say that?"

"Just promise me. Please…" Tom ordered, holding out his pinky. It was their version of the Unbreakable Vow. He knew that it was something she would never be able to break, no matter how old they were.

"Alright. I promise." Frankie answered, interlocking her pinky in his. She tumbled back on to the snow covered ground making a very disfigured print in the snow. "Not a very merry Christmas is it, Tom."

"Not really, but what did you expect. Being out here, possibly about to start a bloody war, of course Christmas isn't going to be very cheerful." he replied, shrewdly. He too laid back down and gazed up at the starry night sky, not that he needed to. He could see them quite clearly staring into her eyes. "Remind me, why we did this in the first place again?"

"It’s our duty to protect the school. It is our home after all." she smiled. Of course, she would have an answer like that, but it was not as if Tom disagreed. Even though they would be leaving it in a little more than a few months, Hogwarts was much more of a home than Wool’s Orphanage was. They weren’t exactly clawing to get out. Although, Tom claimed to have come there just to protect Frankie, he really did want to protect the school too.

“You’re right, as always, my clever girl…”


	51. The Dead-Line

The days seem to move by faster, busier and less relaxed. Despite the fact that Dumbledore was supposed to be fighting alone, everyone must be trained for it. They all kind of knew in the back of their minds there would be fighting either way. Suddenly, before they knew it, it was six days later, the morning of big duel. Everyone was silent as they ate breakfast and got ready to set out to the place where the duel would be held, a clearing a few miles past Grindelwald’s camp. The first one who even dared to say a word that silent morning was Frankie. She and Tom were walking side-by-side, when suddenly he could see a little light bulb turn on in her head. Today was not only the day of some great battle.

"Oh, Tom. I completely forgot. Hap—"

"Don't say it!" Tom snapped at her, before she could finish. Yes, it was rather unfortunate the day just had to be six days from Christmas. As in, the day he turned eighteen. Now, if he had stayed a muggle his eighteenth birthday would've been the day he would've finally been a real muggle man. Luckily, he was no muggle man and his seventeenth birthday had come and gone exactly one year previous.

"Why not?" Frankie protested, looking a bit confused as to why she couldn't wish him a happy birthday. She did it every year, knowing he wouldn't like her giving him anything and she couldn’t afford to get him anything anyway. She even sent him a crane last year when they had been fighting. It was all she could do to show him that someone cared about him living for one more year. It was a dreaded holiday at the orphanage and at school everyone was away on vacation, she was the only one who thought about this day as something more than the last day of the year.

"I'm not going to celebrate that kind of thing out here,” he stated, coldly. She turned away from his gaze and stared down at the ground. Tom sighed and gave up instantly at her somber expression, “You can say it when we return to school."

"We’re probably not going back to Hogwarts, you know?" she muttered, grimly. Everyone else had been too afraid to admit it out loud, but they were extremely out numbered. Hagrid was a dropout, Frankie and Tom were still in school, Minerva had an office job at the ministry and barely got to practice spells that didn't involve moving paper from one place to the other and who knew what Aberforth could do, most of the time he just seemed like an angry old bum. Meanwhile, Mrs. Bagshot had her foot in both courts and didn't want to take part in fighting, she stayed behind at camp. They were already down one person.

Sure most of Grindelwald's army looked as though they should be living on the streets, but who said magical ability ever matched looks. They also had the advantages of the three Unforgivable Curses and they weren't going to be afraid to use them. It wasn't like Tom was either. He had done it one his own flesh and blood, surely he could do it to a bunch of worthless nothings who couldn't offer anything to society and just gave up and quit. Of course, Dumbledore got in the way. He always did.

Not wanting to even think about the possibility of not going back, or look at Frankie’s depressing pessimism, he forced himself to gaze into the black stone ring on his finger. He had to fix her before they went into this fight, she couldn’t go in with that kind of attitude or she’d be killed instantly. Suddenly, very spur of the moment, he slipped the ring off his finger, grasped her left hand, and placed it on her finger.

"This ring is a very important heirloom and has been in my family for generations. It is a very precious thing to me and you're going to hold on to it until we are both back at school," Tom explained, slightly enjoying watching her blush feverishly at the gesture. "You promise?"

"Yes, I promise. I'll return it the second we get back." Frankie smiled, as she gazed down at it. Most would have found it quite an ugly ring, the disfigured black stone was sloppily placed onto the gold and there was a big scratch that looked like a line inside a circle inside a triangle, but despite all that she still liked it. The ring was important to Tom, he never had gone without it since he’d received it from his uncle, and that's why she would try her best to return safely with it. She must have been as equally precious to him.

They could see a massive clearing that had looked as though it had just been wiped of all surrounding trees only minutes ago. One side had men already surrounding it the other side, which must have been left to them, was left empty. One man stood in the center already, Gellert Grindelwald. He looked towards their direction and grinned a taut, yet satisfied, looking smile.

"Dumbledore…" Frankie whispered, softly, noticing Dumbledore's expression. He looked fine to the untrained eye, but she saw something wrong in his features. It looked to her like he was trying to suppress the _fear_ he felt towards Grindelwald.

"Come on, Frankie. It's best we don't distract him right now." Tom remarked, starting to lead her over to the appointed sidelines. However, Dumbledore placed his hand on Tom's shoulder, indicating for him to stop.

"I'd actually like her too accompany me, until its time." he remarked, noticeably trying to sound as normally cheerful as possible. Only Frankie seemed to notice he was not himself because Tom was acting how he usually did to Dumbledore's cheery attitude. If he had noticed, he would’ve promptly said so.

"Why should she—"

"It's fine, Tom. I'll go with him." Frankie interrupted, tugging on Tom's sleeve a little to get him to stop arguing. Tom released her hand, quite reluctantly, while she took Dumbledore’s and they started to walk towards the center. "Professor, is everything alright?"

"Perfectly fine, my dear." he answered, seemingly reassuring, but Frankie was not convinced. She still saw the hidden eyes filled with fear, resting in his wrinkling sockets. Finally, they reached the center with Grindelwald.

"Ah, Albus it's been too long." he smiled, extending his arms as if expecting Dumbledore to hug him. However, Dumbledore kept his distance, clutching Frankie's hand tighter for support.

"Can't say it's a pleasure, Gellert." Dumbledore stated, oddly normal yet not to friendly.

"Aw, don't be that way. Surely, you must have missed your best friend." he pouted, as if Dumbledore had actually hurt his feelings. His act didn't fool them, though.

"I don't have a best friend.” Dumbledore replied, coldly. “Shall we get this over with?"

"What's with the haste? Could it be you are frightened by me?" Grindelwald smirked. Frankie flashed a nervous look in place of Dumbledore. Could it be this man really did know him as well as he claimed to? It had only taken him seconds to see what Frankie saw in Dumbledore. Could he also see his true emotions when he drew a mask to hide them? Were they really, at some point, best friends? Tom had mentioned it when giving her the debrief of the mission he, Minerva and Abe went on. He hadn’t believed it either, but why would Grindelwald keep on saying it if it wasn’t true? There was nothing to gain by it.

"I fear no one, let alone you." Dumbledore stated, rather convincingly. It was truly amazing how he could act as normally as he always was when he actually was secretly terrified. Fear was the one emotion that even Tom struggled with repressing.

"Really now? So, why is she here?" he questioned, pointing to the seemingly little girl attached to his hand. She glared at him and tried to look as tough as she possibly could for a girl who was usually as sweet as honey. It was more or less effective.

"I just thought she should get a look at the man who really gave the orders to kill her parents." Dumbledore explained, although he hadn't said anything like that to her upon escorting her over here. She looked up at him and back at Grindelwald, not knowing which one to be more surprised at.

"Honestly, Albus, I've ordered too many people to be killed. You have to be more specific." Grindelwald remarked, sounding a bit bored. Frankie remembered though, how could she ever forget? Although, she had foolishly thought it was all over with. Diana had died so it could finally be over.

"It was around the time you first became obsessed with powerful magical objects and rose to power. You were pursuing Gryffindor's Sword and had Grigor working for you to get it, before he rose to power himself." Dumbledore tried, to see if it refreshed his memory.

"Oh, yes. I remember now. Grigor had told me that he had the sword in his hand and had left the brat to die in a fire. However, the second he disapparated with it was gone," Grindelwald added, after a bit of thinking, as the memories formed clearly in his head now. He smiled and took up her other hand that was not in Dumbledore’s. "So, this must be the brat? Frankie Dickson, was it? You were in all the papers for quite a while thanks to me. There was a sparkling debate over whether you were alive or not. Personally, I was too angry to care at the time, but now I am curious. How did you escape with no control over your magical abilities? _How did you take my sword?_ "

"Dumbledore saved me and I didn't use any magic other than to start the fire. The real story isn't as amazing as the papers made it out to be." she answered, blankly, as she backed away from his hand. She was trying to remain as emotionless as Dumbledore. A man who has committed so many murders, that he can't even remember some, didn't deserve any of their emotions. Not even the bad ones. "Also, it was never _your_ sword, sir. It’s _mine_.”

"It’s so like Albus to rescue a child from a burning building. A child that he didn’t even know.” Grindelwald sighed, most likely dissatisfied with her ending to the story.

"You knew her parents were dear friends of mine. Even though they were a few years below me at school, I probably spent more time with them then the people in my own year,” Dumbledore stated, finally starting to act normally. “I was naturally included into their family life. Before you forced them into hiding, I got to hold her as a baby once or twice. I’d say that’s reason enough to save her from a burning building.”

"Well, she's certainly not a brat anymore," he grinned, devilishly, as he looked at her rather newly aged body up and down. She hid, rather childishly, from his eyes behind Dumbledore and blushed a little. Although, that was probably more from the news of Dumbledore holding her as a baby then the fact that Grindelwald was staring at her. She stared up at Dumbledore, a bit differently now. He had never actually mentioned going to school with her parents _before_. Slughorn might’ve mentioned it once or twice, but she’d never heard it from him, "What about the little boy? Tom Riddle, was it?"

"He's only a direct descendant of Salazar Slytherin and top of his class at Hogwarts," Dumbledore answered, nonchalantly, as if what he said hadn’t made Tom sound anything but extraordinary. Grindelwald slightly twitched at the news. "If your men attack us, I am confident I have all the forces I need to beat them.”

"Well, let's just test that theory. Shall we?"

"Alright, if that is what you wish…"

"Oh, and one more thing. Speaking of powerful magical objects," he rummaged around in his pocket and pulled out a wand. It was a long wand that had carvings that resembled clusters of berries running down its length. It looked pretty ordinary, at least as ordinary as you could get with wands. Grindelwald gave a smug satisfied smirk, as Dumbledore's eyes actually widened at the sight of it, finally showing how terrified he actually was. However, for some strange reason Frankie eyes wandered at the scratch in the black stone ring and clutched the Invisibility Cloak in her bag, when she saw it. "I'm sure you recognize this one…”

"It's time." Dumbledore added, abruptly. Frankie turned to leave immediately.

"Good luck, sir."

She ran to the sidelines as fast as she could, trying not to peer back at them over her shoulder as she left. They waited until she was safely beside Tom, but not a moment longer. Once she was out of the way, the battle started instantly. The spells started flying out at rapid speed, some Tom and Frankie couldn't even recognize. Were they even thinking at all? It almost looked as if their wands were just acting on their own and all they had to do for them was move their arms in the right directions.

"He's brilliant…" Tom muttered in amazement, yet held a furious look. It was the first time he had ever seen Dumbledore show any of his real magical abilities. In fact he never saw Dumbledore perform any magic that wasn’t simple classroom tricks. "So, why does he act so damn dimwitted and lost all the time?"

"It's because he doesn't want to be brilliant." Frankie answered, but wasn't exactly talking straight to him. It was more like she was thinking out loud.

"What?" She wasn't making any sense. How could someone not want brilliance? Surely, he must have worked hard to obtain his skills, so how could he not want them now?

"It's nothing. I'm sure you'll understand someday, when you're older." She smiled and laughed like she held some sort of little secret to herself.

"I'm two months older then you, idiot."

The battle seemed to have halted abruptly, as finally someone slipped up. It was weird how the simplest of spells could have possibly won such a battle. Frankie and Tom, and most likely everyone, knew it. Which is probably why they all stared at them with awe. Dumbledore stood with both wands in hand, he pointed Grindlewald's at him. Grindelwald seemed to cower at his own wand and seemed, from a distance, that he was begging for Dumbledore to spare him. It would seem Dumbledore was letting him live, but for a cost. He agreed to the conditions, yet still smirked like he still had something up his sleeve. Suddenly, but not unexpectedly, the sea of men was set in motion towards them. Spells started flying everywhere, mostly flashes of green and red. Aberforth and Hagrid were quickly occupied.

"Get under the cloak!" Frankie yelled, as she yanked out the old cloak from her bag. Tom stared at it like the thing was covered in fleas and then stared at her like she could not have been serious. However, the cloak seemed rather familiar to him. He didn't know why though.

"What will that do beside—?”

"Just do it." she snapped, cutting off his arguments and forcibly pulling him under the cloak with her. Frankie removed her wand and started shooting spells at men looking for opponents. Men from Grindelwald's army who had been missed looked in their direction, yet did not attack. Some even walked right next to them, looked around a bit, and kept on fighting with either Aberforth or Hagrid.

"Why are they just passing by us?" Tom asked, confused that no one was paying them any attention.

"It’s an Invisibility Cloak. With this, we can shoot spells without being seen." Frankie explained, trying to actually focus on attacking rather than talking. Then it had hit him where he had seen the cloak before. It was on the floor when Frankie had suddenly appeared at Hagrid's arrest. Dumbledore had picked it up and he thought nothing more of it, considering he had an unconscious girl in his arms to deal with.

"Since when have you—"

"I borrowed it from Aidan." she cut him off, again, continuing to shoot spells at men in the distance. Tom decided to do the same. They had shot down a lot of men, when suddenly the cloak was lifted high above their heads by a giant ham-like arm.

"Stupid little tricks you kids’ have." the man muttered, as he balled the Invisibility Cloak in his fist.

"Give it back, you creep." Frankie hissed at him. She jumped up and down as he teased it just above her reach. He cruelly laughed watching her struggle so hard to obtain it without just using magic.

"Ha, not like—"

She had stabbed her wand to his stomach, hard, and muttered a stunning spell. He fell to the ground before her and she smiled to herself, rather sinisterly. Frankie was almost a completely different person against enemies such as this. Tom had only seen ever that wicked smile accompanied with the Billy Stubb incident.

"Why didn't you just do that in the first place?" Tom asked, laughing ever so slightly at her actions. Although, he fell in love with the sweet kind girl from the bushes, he liked this version of Frankie too. It was the Gryffindor in her, strong and brave. She smiled her warm smile and with that extra power boost, Tom departed, zapping down anyone who crossed his path. Tom was also a very different person while he was fighting. He gave off a merciless and powerful look that almost seemed to match Grindelwald in a way. Meanwhile, Frankie stood alone for the moment, clutching the cloak in her arms perplexed by Tom’s transformation. When suddenly, a huge gust of cold winter wind yanked the Invisibility Cloak right out of her arms.

"No!" she exclaimed, as she watched the cloak get caught in the branch of the leafless tree. Frankie ran for it and surprisingly no one came to stop her. Grindlewald's army was diminishing in size rather quickly for them only having six people fighting. They must have thought she was not worth dealing with and their time was better to be focused on taking Dumbledore down. As she reached the base of the tree, she could see the cloak blowing in the wind like a flag on the end of a long tree branch. She was supposed to give it back to Aidan, it was important to him, and she wasn't going to lose it out here.

 _“Accio cloak!”_ she yelled. The cloak drifted back into her arms and she stowed it safely back into her bag. Frankie quickly ran to rejoin the fight, however, she was immediately stopped by a figure from behind the tree. Grindelwald stood a few feet in front of her, breathing heavily and holding a wand that was obviously not the one Dumbledore had taken from him. He looked angrier and more deranged than he did when he was fighting Dumbledore. He’d looked so powerful and confident before, but his defeat had reduced him to a state of insanity.

"Elder wand or not, I still can kill such a stupid little girl with ease." Grindelwald yelled, psychotically, pointing the borrowed wand at her. With one simple wave, he deflected her own wand from her hand and she was left defenseless. There wasn't any options left for her now. It wasn’t like this was exactly a surprise. Frankie had been mentally preparing herself for this exact moment since she’d first agreed to accompany Dumbledore on this mission. It was the end for her. All she could do was close her eyes and accept that this was her fate. To die like they did, like her parents and her sister had, "I will not go down without taking something else of Albus’s with me!"

"Frankie!" Tom called, running towards the scene. Frankie had opened her eyes to give him one last smile. It was nice to hear him say her name one last time before she was gone. However, her eyes widened in horror as he didn't stop running before the Unforgivable Curse hit. His intent was what he made her promise not to do for him. However, he never made the same promise in return.

The green stream of light hit him in the chest and she saw the little bit of light his eyes held vanish into two dark glossy pools. His body collapsed in front of her and she sunk down beside it, while Grindelwald cackled madly. She wasn't paying attention to Aberforth and Dumbledore arriving to their aid, the rest of the world had gone blurry. It all seemed so impossible. It couldn't be true, yet she could see the lifeless body lying before her and feel a sharp wrenching pain start to form in her chest. The feeling sunk in deeper and deeper, until it was numbing her whole body.

No scream in the world could've relieved the pain she felt in that moment, but she still decided try.

_Happy Birthday, Tom…_

_18 years, exactly and not a minute more._


	52. The Place Where You're Not

Frankie ended up being disapparated back immediately by Aberforth, on Dumbledore's orders. It was clear she would not be fit for any further battling. He had no trouble taking her, surprisingly. She didn’t struggle, or even make a sound, after the initial heart wrenching scream. She merely stared down at the boy lying in front of her, who was perfect even in death. All Aberforth merely had to do was clasp her hand and they both disappeared with a popping sound. One minute they were in a snowy forest surrounded by bloodshed and battle, then the next they were in the peaceful town of Hogsmeade surrounded by shoppers and a warm holiday aura. Aberforth led her to the Hogshead, shut her into one of the rooms, and locked the door. He had to go back.

They did not come back for some time. It was nearing nightfall when the four were all safely back in the Hogshead as well. Dumbledore, despite his better judgment, had decided not to kill Gellert Grindelwald. He constrained him and decreed that Grindelwald was going to be held in Nurmengard, a prison that he himself had created. The death he would suffer would be a long and painful one. The men, who were not dead, had fled and would surely be able to be tracked another day. However, it was over, for now. They had won.

So, why didn't it feel like it?

The reason was quite obvious. They had lost a comrade and a brilliant wizard. Although, the four allowed themselves to wallow a bit, none of them could bring themselves to cry. They didn’t know him all too well. Besides, the girl crumbled on the other side of the door, was crying enough for the five of them. She was crying about how unfair life, not caring that it wasn’t supposed to be so. Frankie had never done anything to deserve such a cruel and harsh life, but nevertheless it had taken her mother, father, sister, and now Tom. He was her best friend, the one person she could tell everything to and made it so she was never alone again. They were brought together by chance and circumstance, but bounded together by fate. Frankie had foolishly believed him when he said they were both going to be coming back to school together. Before he said that, she was fully prepared for both of them to die out there. However, Tom had done something much worse than both of them dying.

He had left her all alone.

_3 months later…_

" _Where's Tom gone? I haven't seen him for a while now."_

"Huh?" Frankie answered the disembodied voice, lifelessly and dull. She saw a tall girl with raven black hair and blue eyes wearing a Ravenclaw uniform. Her name was Marie and she was in the same year as Frankie, yet they weren’t exactly friends. Marie never really spoke to her unless it was absolutely necessary.

"I asked you where To—"

"Oh, yes. I'm sorry, Marie. Didn’t you hear? Tom is currently studying abroad at Durmstrang and will not be returning, until near the end of the school year." she stated, in a monotone, quickly cutting off repetition of Marie's words. She didn’t want to have to suffer through the question for the thousandth time. Even three months since his passing, Frankie still got this question every almost every single day, as if the student body thought the answer would change if they just kept asking her. She even got asked the question by Helena Ravenclaw. Frankie didn't even know Tom was that acquainted with her. The last time she'd checked, he had no idea who she was.

"That's too bad..." Marie pouted. She sighed, obviously disappointed, and turned to leave, since Frankie no longer held a purpose to her. "Just tell me when he returns then."

"Of course, I will," Frankie answered, trying to sound as normally cheerful as possible. However, it just came off sounding fake and creepy. It was like when Tom tried to act cheerful, normally. Suddenly, the normal memory of Tom trying to look happy, turned into a lifeless corpse and a green flash of light. Her pain could not be contained for much longer. "Would you excuse me? I have lots of work I need to complete."

Frankie walked away at a normal speed at first, but then it soon turned into a jogging sprint. Soon as she entered an empty hallway, she ducked underneath a staircase, so she'd at least be somewhat better hidden. Although, she couldn't erase the sound of her crying into her knees. That's probably why she was so easily found.

"Ah, there you are. Dylan, I found her!" a kind and familiar voice, called down the corridor. When she looked up Aidan was hunched over, staring at her tear stained face with a sympathetic expression. "Honestly, I turn my back for one second and you go running off crying in dark corners."

"I'm sorry..." she muttered. He sat down and placed his arm around her. Not in a romantic way, but more of the "you're-in-desperate-need-of-a-friend-right-now” sort of way.

"It's ok. You really don't need to apologize." he answered, gently, rubbing her shoulder as she buried her head into his. "I know you've been upset, since Tom left abroad, but don't worry. You're not alone."

"It still hurts,” Frankie admitted, as she buried her head deeper into his shoulder. “On Sundays, I expect him to be waiting for me by the Great Hall or already sitting under that tree by the lake reading, but I know I can't see him anymore."

"He'll be back before you know it," Aidan reassured her. Too bad she was the only person who actually knew that wasn't true. Knowing the truth, his words had absolutely no effect on her. Then he suddenly looked down at her, as if he was restraining himself from saying something, but he turned away. "However, if he doesn't for any reason, I don’t think he’d want you to be torn up like this. He'd want you to be happy."

"Thanks." she mumbled, grimly. Frankie re-buried her head back into her knees, wishing that he was right. Tom was really at Durmstrang and would be back for her soon. He was certainly not rotting alone in that forest, or six-feet under. She never did ask what they did with the body. Once reunited with his body, it would take a lot more force than the first time to pry her away from him.

Frankie let his words sink in, for a second time, as she cleared her head a bit more. They sounded rather _odd_ _,_ now she thought about it with thoughts unclouded by pain. Almost, as if he knew what had actually happened to Tom. However, that would be impossible. The only people who knew of Tom's death had been the few who were there. Dylan appeared sooner or later, clearly to have been looking for the spot that Aidan had called her from but not being able to find it.

"There you guys are! Come on it's time to eat." Dylan exclaimed, as she helped Frankie to her feet. As Aidan got up of the ground, his bones creaky from Quidditch practice, he handed Frankie a handkerchief. So, she could clean up before appearing in public again.

"Frankie, we have another meeting this evening. Do you want me to tell them you can't make it?" Aidan asked, as they began walking towards the Great Hall. He was taking up all the Head Boy duties in Tom’s absence, most likely so Frankie wouldn't feel so lonely. The Head Boy and Girl were constantly in and out of meetings, solving matters and conflicts with the students. They were the guardian angels, so to speak, and everyone looked up to them. If Aidan hadn't used his good grades and name to take the job first, it would've been filled faster than a Golden Snitch.

"I'll be fine. I can't let something as trivial as this get in the way of my duties as Head Girl." Frankie answered, putting on a strong face. Even though the matter was anything but trivial to her. No one could know and she was already making it a little obvious that something else was going on and that Tom’s trip was a pretty permanent one.

"Please don't push yourself to much..."

They were probably getting suspicious by now. Frankie felt the constant supervision and Aidan’s ‘hypothetical’ comment were not mere coincidences.  Suffice to say, it was getting a little bit suffocating. Thankfully after supper, Aidan and Dylan had been stopped by Quin to talk about something cool Ogg had showed him and she was able to slip away. It was early, but she could just sit in the meeting room and maybe actually start reading Tom's diary. Mrs. Bagshot had left her with the things he had brought with him on the trip, the rest lay abandoned in the Slytherin boy’s dormitory. She hadn't worked up the courage to read it yet, though. Frankie was a bit worried he would get mad at her, if he could see her now that was. He was dead, but it still was an invasion of privacy to read his personal thoughts.

In the midst of her moral dilemma, she was suddenly bombarded once more. Peter and Ellyn had spotted her and immediately ran right over.

"Frankie, where have you been lately?” Ellyn exclaimed. “I feel like you never talk to me and Peter anymore."

"Oh hello, Ellyn. I’m sorry. I've just been so busy as of late," Frankie greeted, pairing it with a lame excuse. It's true that she was busy, but she had made herself that way. Nowadays, she was always adding unnecessary work onto her work load because it was something to distract her. However, she really did miss getting to talk her only two friends in a different house. "I suppose I can spare a few moments to catch up with you guys in the library before my meeting."

The three walked to the library talking about what was going on in their lives, since they had last spoken. Frankie tried to work around anything Tom related, but it was no use. Ellyn talked about how Leri had tried to trip her off a moving staircase a few days ago and had turned the whole house against her. Without Tom to keep them in line anymore, they got away with the teasing and pranks. He had always protected her since she had become Frankie's friend. Peter wasn't much different. Since Tom was no longer there, he was treated like a slave by his roommates, mostly Malfoy. He had sort of been taking control since Tom left. As soon as they sat down at one of the library tables, Peter of course had to ask her one of the hardest questions.

"So, how have you been since Tom has gone abroad?"

"Peter!" Ellyn whisper-yelled angrily, violently punching him on the shoulder. She could probably sense Frankie's sensitivity to this question.

"Ow! What was that for?" he answered, obliviously, rubbing the sore spot on his arm. It was funny, they had a love-hate relationship sometimes. However, Frankie still wasn't able to laugh.

"It's fine, Ellyn. I suppose nothing much has changed, except less people seem to notice that something is still wrong with me." she answered, dazedly, staring out the library window. Frankie had once fainted in that very window upon finding out her parents were actually famous Aurors in the wizarding world. They had never told her, not about themselves, not about this world, and certainly not about herself. If she had known, no one would be dead. She’d have her parents and her sister. Tom wouldn’t know her, considering they would never meet at the orphanage, but he’d be alive. And right now that would be everything.

"But he'll be back soon, won't he?" Ellyn smiled, optimistically and a bit desperately, wanting Frankie to at least crack a small smile as well. Sadly, it had no effect. It was a rare thing to see Tom smile, while Frankie was the one who smiled constantly. If he couldn't smile at all anymore, then neither would she.

"To be honest, I'm not sure if he's ever coming back." Frankie answered, grimly, staring down at her hands resting in her lap. In them, she held the diary and on her left ring finger rest the disfigured black stone ring. It was odd. These were the only two things she had left of his. She liked having them both with her at all times, they made her feel safe and connected with him in a way. It almost was like having him with her in two little objects.

"Tom, wouldn't just leave Hogwarts—would he?" Peter asked, nervously, finally getting the mood of the conversation. No matter how much she wanted to tell them that he had already left here and wouldn't be coming back, she just couldn't.

"Let's talk about something else! How'd you do on Slughorn's last test?" Ellyn shouted, brightly, changing the subjects. Not another word was to be said about Tom. They talked on and on about anything and everything. And in that seemingly meaningless conversation, Frankie forgot about Tom for a little while. They could've gone on forever, but sadly the grand clock chimed seven. It was time to leave.

"I'd love to stay and chat more, but Aidan and I have a meeting to attend to and I should probably find him, before he hunts me down." Frankie said looking at the time and getting up from the library table they sat at.

"He and Dylan have been attached to you at the hip nowadays." Ellyn added. They had left Frankie alone a bit at first, but after a while, her condition did not seem to get any better. She wasn't allowed out of their sight after that, unless she escaped like she had two hours ago.

"They’re on to me…" she answered, vaguely. “I really must be going now, but it was great to see you two."

Frankie said her goodbyes and left the library. She quickly ran through the corridors, as time continued to run away from her. The meeting itself had started precisely at seven, but she should have arrived far before then. However, being caught by a teacher for running in the halls wasn't good either. Thankfully, all the teachers were supposed to be at the meeting. As she ran, she started to hear the pattering steps of feet behind her. Frankie turned around to see Professor Slughorn briskly walking after her. She stopped in the middle corridor to wait for him to catch up.

"Running a bit late to the meeting as well, I see." Slughorn greeted, as he finally caught up.

"Yes, I got caught up talking to some friends. I'm very sorry, sir." Frankie apologized.

"Oh, it's no trouble my dear. If you didn’t notice, I'm late too," he laughed. Frankie cracked no smile or let out a little chuckle to his joke. She looked rather ashamed of herself. They both continued to walk towards the meeting, "By the way, have you received any letters from Tom lately?"

"Um—no, sir. It's really hard to get into contact with someone all the way over in Durmstrang. Twilit doesn’t like long distances or the cold weather." she reasoned, sputtering rather nervously, hoping he would buy it. Sometimes, Frankie read the old flying cranes that used to slip through the crack in her window, but it wasn't the same. It was one of those things they had always done and one they would never do again.

"I'm sure he's alright. Knowing Tom, he won’t stay there for much longer. I was always telling him Durmstrang would be a good school for him. However, he always shook his head at the idea. He told me this was the only school for him," Slughorn added, noticing her hollow trance like eyes. Frankie couldn't help, but crack a small smile at this. She could imagine him saying something of the sort. This had always been the only school for them. Slughorn naturally smiled back at her. He knew Tom and Frankie better than any of the other teachers, besides Dumbledore, and surely he would not believe so easily that Tom wouldn't attempt to write her even once in all the months he was gone, "He’ll come back soon. I’m certain of it."

"I do hope you are right…"

They could here another set of footsteps running in the distance towards them. From a far they couldn't really tell who it was and were getting their lecturing faces ready, but as the figure drew closer, they saw Aidan to be running late to the meeting as well.

"There you are—I've been looking for you everywhere. I turn my back again for one second and you disappear. Would you stay in one place for once?" Aidan huffed, a bit out of breath. He pushed these wire rim glasses farther on to his nose. They were his glasses he used for reading sometimes, said they used to be his fathers. All the men in his family had to wear glasses at some point in their life, he was just hoping he would last past eighteen. He loathed wearing them in public, thought they made him look like a dork. Aidan brought them out when the two were working on paper work or going to meetings. Slughorn stared at the messy haired boy with the round glasses, like he couldn't even recognize him.

"I'm sure she is quite capable of getting around on her own, Mr. Potter." Slughorn replied for Frankie, a bit more sternly then he should have. He sounded like a protective father.

"Of course she can, sir. I apologize. I'm sure Tom's spirit is sort of rubbing off on me." Aidan stammered, taken aback by Slughorn's suddenly harsh demeanor. He most likely thought Aidan was trying to take Tom's place in every aspect, when that was not the case. Aidan, like most of the people close to Frankie, was merely concerned about her condition. He wasn’t interested in creating something with someone who was weak from heartache.

They all walked into the meeting together. The small dim room had little room in it besides a long table in the center that was filled with the various professors and the headmaster. They stared as the three stood in the doorway, their presence cutting off the last sentence. After several apologies, Frankie and Aidan sneaked over to their seats, while Slughorn went all the way at the other end of the table to his.

"So, nice of you all to join us. We were just getting started." Headmaster Dippet remarked. Once they were all sitting in their appointed seats, the meeting began again.

The meeting seemed to troll on forever with plans for graduation, various issues with problem students, like Quin, and several incidents that first years caused because, well, they were first years. Tom would have enjoyed it though. He used to live for meetings like this, for a chance to show how intelligent he was and share his superior ideas. Of course, afterwards he would complain to her how dull and boring it was, as he walked her back to her dorm. As comforting as it was to have Aidan here with her, rather than being alone, she would’ve rather had Tom sitting beside her as her Head Boy. It had always been their plan.

"Now, the next problem is specifically about the Head Girl and Boy," Dippet announced, as he read some notes off his parchment. Frankie suddenly snapped back in to attention. "It has come to my attention that the students are complaining about having appointed two people from the same house as heads. Apparently, we’re coming off as prejudice against the other houses, since the choosing of Mr. Potter."

"I'm just filling in for Tom, though. The position isn't permanent." Aidan protested, desperately. He sounded like he already knew where this conversation was going. And Frankie had to admit, she did too.

"Although, you so generously volunteered to take up the position, I have to wonder if you are right for the job. Your grades are quite excellent, but I'm afraid your troublemaking with Mr. Nole does not make you an ideal candidate for Head Boy." Professor Beery added, bitterly. He had always had a slight grudge at the duo, since the very beginning. Apart from Apollyon Pringle, the two found no one else who was easier to prank then Beery. Once they even cut every single plant with a leaf in the greenhouse and when he chased after them towards the Whomping Willow…

Well, let's just say Aidan and Quin were a lot quicker than he was.

"You can't just replace him." Frankie objected, getting to her feet. Lately she had just stayed silent during such meetings, but she not only was talking, she was _angry_. The whole room of teachers was staring at her now. She quickly sat back down and acted like she never had gotten up. However, she had to find some way for them to not get rid of Aidan. She tried a different angle, "Who else is going to take on such a responsibility?"

"We actually already have a student who says he's willing to take Tom's place until he returns." Professor Beery counter argued.

"Who?" both she and Aidan asked, at the same time.

"Abraxas Malfoy."

The crowd of teachers started whispering about the decision, however Frankie and Aidan went absolutely dead silent.

"What? Why Malfoy?" Aidan objected. To be replaced by your one of your worst enemies must have stung, but for Frankie it was a whole lot worst. He irritated her, angered her and scared her all at the same time. She put up with him most days, but frankly found his affections unwanted and untrue. If she had any bit of her heart left, it was gone now.

"He's more qualified for the position and will show the students the staff supports the other houses. I'm sure Tom would want him to take place in his absence, as well.”

She ran, not wanting to hear any more of a decision that would further ruin her life, but not too far. Perhaps, she wanted to be found this time. Thankfully, like usual, Aidan got her message and had come running after her.

"Frankie, it'll be okay. It's just until—”

"Don't you get it, Aidan? He's not coming back!" she shouted angrily, yet the tears still swelled in her eyes. She didn't mean to be angry, but she just couldn't take one more of those 'he's going to come back soon' speeches. He wasn't coming back and it was time for everyone to know about it.

"What's going on?" Something in Frankie's mind told her that he was just playing dumb. Frankie wouldn't be this torn up if Tom was only at Durmstrang. He knew her better than that.

"Tom's not abroad in Durmstrang…"Frankie sighed, taking a deep breath and preparing herself for what she was about to say. She wasn't allowed to tell anyone who was not already involved, but she just had to tell someone. She needed someone to understand. "He's dead."

"What? You have to be joking!" Aidan remarked, still slightly playing a sort of dumbstruck confusion.

"I honestly wish I was! I honestly wish he wasn't…"The word crumbled. She couldn't bring herself to finish, to admit he was dead again. Aidan looked rather shocked and confused, but she knew him better than that. "Don't pretend to be surprised. You and Dylan knew the whole time, didn't you? You knew by the way I’ve been acting that he's been dead all this time."

"We had a hunch, but we were hoping it was wrong.” he sighed, as he slumped next to her on the ground.

"I wasn’t careful enough and Grindelwald was about to kill me, but then Tom…He took that curse for me. It's all my fault he's dead." Frankie mumbled, ruefully.

"It's not your fault. It was an accident." Aidan argued, trying to snap her out of this. Tom would've said the same thing, that it wasn't her fault. He had always told her it wasn't her fault, when she blamed herself for the terrible things she had caused, but even from him she never bought it.

"I should've died! He had his whole life ahead of him. I ruined everything for him.” she debated, anguished and raged. Who knows what good Tom Riddle would've done for society? He was surely to become minister, despite what he told Slughorn. Tom Riddle, the most powerful and brilliant man in all the magical world. He could've had a pretty little thing for a wife, instead of that girl who had done nothing but ruin his life, with perhaps a beautiful baby girl. She could see Tom doting over a little girl. They would all go on walks through London on his Sundays off and forget that other girl he once enjoyed walking with long ago. Naturally, they would attend fancy parties during the night. Slughorn would gush on about the pretty little thing's beauty and elegance, not even he would remember the daft girl he had once treated like a daughter. Tom would forget her too. The boy who could've had such a perfect life if he had just weeded her out long ago.

"No, that's not true!" Aidan argued, looking at her like she was absolutely mad for thinking like that. She wasn't listening. In her mind it was set in stone that this was all her fault. She was content to take all the pain, like a thorn in her brain that was too deep to ever come out. Nothing he could do or say would be able to remove this figurative thorn, yet he still felt he must try to do something. "Look, how many friends do you think he had before you?"

"None. But he—"

"How many friends did you have?" he asked, not giving her a chance to object to the first question. She didn't even have to think about that one. Her parents had her locked her away. She had not met anyone her own age, until she met Tom.

"I didn't have any either." she answered. This should've made her want to cry even more. To think that the first person she had met other than her parents, the little boy that told her not to run away and give up. That boy who had given her hope was now gone. She held back the tears, waiting for Aidan to make his point. Surely, he had one coming.

"Exactly, before you two got here you only had each other. You two were the only ones with these strange abnormal powers that you couldn't explain. How do you think his life was before you came? He must have had no one he could depend on," he explained, as if he had almost been there along with them. His words spoke the truth. They slightly comforted her, soothed her almost. "Sure you might have been the cause of his death, but you were the only reason he started living in the first place. He would’ve been far worse off having never met you."

"Don't tell anyone about this, Aidan. Please…" she whispered, as she buried her head into his shoulder for the second time in the past few hours. It was a wonder she had any tears left.

"I won't, but why continue to try to hide it? You're just hurting yourself." he asked. Even telling him was something she wasn't supposed to do. If she told everyone, there would be funerals and giving away his assets. In other words, telling everyone would just be finalizing it with the world.

"Dumbledore wants to keep it all quiet for a while. So, we’ve been telling everyone he's just gone abroad in Durmstrang for a few months. They'll forget about him once we graduate. The only person I’m really trying to fool is myself. I figure if I keep telling myself he's just somewhere else that he'll just come back one day." Frankie explained. "I'm stupid, aren't I?"

"Head Girls are not stupid. They are kind, beautiful, intelligent girls that help students in spite of the fact that her own life isn't as great as she'd like it to be. You are far from being stupid. You might be a little emotional right now, but that's ok. Time marches on and so will you, so hang in there," Aidan said, sounding a bit like a wise old man and a cheesy get-well-soon card. It sounded like something Tom would've said, except a whole lot better. His words probably would've been a little crueler, but made Frankie feel better regardless, yet not as make her feel as good as this. "If you ever feel like talking, or blowing snot all over someone's shoulder, you can always come to me."

"Thanks Aidan…" Frankie said, as she finally let out one of her genuine smiles for the first time in months. His face lit up to, at the sight of her very first smile he had seen in a while.

"Come on, let's ditch the rest of this meeting and go down to the kitchens. I'm sure the house elves will be happy to serve us some tea and cookies." Aidan smiled, getting to his feet and offering up a hand. Frankie took it and hand-in-hand, they left for the kitchen.

Eventually, it was the first day of April, the fourth month was rolling in, yet she had stopped counting the days. It hurt too much and, like Aidan had said, time marches on so should she. After their talk Frankie started to act a lot happier, kind of like she used to be. She cleared off more of her schedule so she could hang out with Ellyn and Peter more and visit Ogg and Hagrid, who was currently residing with Ogg and learning the ropes to gamekeeping. Frankie had even started laughing again, but it had only lasted a week though. The next meeting would be that night and this time Aidan wouldn't be coming with her. Frankie quickly exited the Great Hall after supper in high hopes she could beat Malfoy there, but he had been waiting for her right outside the hall.

"Hello, my little doll. It feels like ages since we've spoken." he greeted, blocking her path so she could not evade him. She squinted her face in anger. So much for her happy mood. Just the sight of him and already she felt like giving him a good hex to the stomach. It was a feeling especially reserved for him. Over the past couple months her toleration for Malfoy had grown very thin. He took everything he could, in Tom’s ‘absence’, from his leadership of the Slytherins to his favorite quill. The only thing he had left to take was Frankie.

"I can't say it's a pleasure." she answered coldly, trying to dodge him. It took all her power not to run straight to the Gryffindor common room, the only place he could not get her. However, the Head Girl would not do something so childish just because she didn't like someone. Surely, he knows any and all attempts at her would be pointless. Even in death, she would always be Tom's.

"Why do you have to be so feisty all the time? It's so cute that it's annoying." Malfoy teased, his face unnaturally close to hers. He put his arm around her waist in an attempt to pull her closer.

"I'll ask you to please maintain your distance. Do I have to remind that you I'm with Tom?" Frankie growled, pushing his face away from hers. Luckily, he let go after the clear rejection, but didn't back down. He stared down at her and smiled, sinisterly.

"No, you're not. Not any more…" Malfoy objected. The smugness in his voice made her eyebrows furrow.

"Yes, I am and you know that." she argued, getting more and more aggravated by the second. Normally, she just tolerated him, but something seemed rather different today. She was a different person. Frankie started to walk away from him, thinking his silence meant she had won. However, he had an ace up his sleeve.

"You can't date a _corpse_ , sweetheart." he stated, with a satisfied smirk. He had gotten her. Malfoy was probably hoping to get her fear, but shock was probably the next best thing. She whipped around instantly.

"What did you just say to me?" Frankie hissed, as she walked back up to him. She should've been shocked for at least a few minutes longer, but anger was clouding her curiosity. How could he have possibly known?

"I couldn't help overhearing you and Potter’s conversation. I had come to talk to the professors about my new position—"

"You're not my Head Boy. Tom is!" Frankie argued, even though by the sound of it he knew that wasn't true. Suddenly, she withdrew her wand and pointed it at Malfoy's chin. For a moment not caring about, how she was supposed to set a good example as Head Girl, how she was attracting a small crowd of people, or how crazy she looked in this moment. All she cared about was making him suffer just as much as she was. "How dare you eavesdrop you foul, disgusting pig—"

She must have underestimated Malfoy's skills, or she had just been too clouded by rage to notice. He swiped the wand from her without a sweat. She tackled his arm and kicked him in the ankle, but he merely waved it way beyond her reach, remaining unaffected. He grabbed her wrist, his height made him almost able to dangle her above the ground with his arm raised.

"Now, as I was saying before. You two weren't too far away from the office and I wouldn't have been able to get passed you if I wanted too. Also, you were crying so hard I wanted to know what was wrong with you. After that I heard the whole sob story about Tom's death and Potter's attempt to comfort you," he explained, his voice dripping with disgust and sarcasm. He let out a short crude laugh, as he fiddled with her wand. "' _If you every feel like talking you can always come to me._ _'_ So hysterical!"

"You're absolutely despicable! If Tom were here, he'd—"

"Well, he's not here, is he? He's dead, my dear!" he shouted right in her ear, as if she wouldn't be able to hear him if he didn't otherwise. It should've made her quiver in fear, but instead it just made her more and more furious at him. How dare he talk like he knew everything? How dare he insult Tom's death in front of her?  And how dare he treat her like she was just another belonging to take from him? Tom may have claimed her as his property, but he never treated her like she wasn’t a person.

"Let go of me, you pompous ass!" she yelled, defiantly, thrashing around knowing he wasn't going to let go on purpose no matter what she said. The crowd was growing around them, yet not one of them helped her. Why break up a good show?

"Never! Since he's out of the picture, you're mine. You, Slytherin, this school, they’re all mine now!" Malfoy yelled, psychotically, holding her wrist up as if she were some kind of trophy he had won. The crowd didn't seem to disagree or at least they didn't stand against it. Why fight a new leader? If the old one wasn't coming back, might as well have a new one. He should deserve everything the old ruler had.

"Honestly, Malfoy, do you really think you can take what's mine with a few childish demands?"

A spine chilling voice had laughed cruelly from a section of the crowd behind them. Everyone recognized it immediately and were shocked. Of course, they weren't as shocked as Malfoy was and certainly not as shocked as Frankie was.

_It can't be..._

Frankie gazed in disbelief at the person that appeared through the crowd. A boy with dark hair and freezing cold eyes, smirking slightly. It was utterly impossible. Her eyes must've been playing tricks on her because it couldn't really be him. Yet those cool dark eyes could've only been his eyes. While Malfoy was muttering the impossibilities he really didn’t know were true or not, Frankie tore her wrist from his hand and started walking towards what was apparently Tom, standing in the crowd. Although the walk was only feet away, it felt like it had taken twenty days rather than twenty seconds. She stood merely inches from him now, but neither of them said a word, just stared into each other's eyes. Suddenly she raised her arm and felt his cheek with her palm. Frankie gasped and recoiled in shock. It was real flesh and blood. It was impossible, he was supposed to be…


	53. Haven't I Met you Before?

Frankie woke up in Gryffindor tower. How did she get here? The last thing she remembered was Tom, standing in the crowd of a people, very much alive. However, as she stared at the empty room with no recollection of how that encounter ended, she excused it as a mere dream. Then a small paper crane suddenly slipped through the window. She gasped as it landed right into her lap. A letter from Tom. It wasn’t a dream after all. Suddenly, as she grabbed the wing to unfold the crane, morphed into a soft red rose. Her expression sunk immensely. She now remembered her huge fight with Malfoy. Tom had not actually been in that crowd. Every day he sent her a flower in attempt to apologize, but she would not come down from her tower. Frankie opened the window and began picking the petals till she was left with nothing but a thorny stem. Unfortunately, if she didn't tell him to stop it now, he would go on sending them forever. Always giving her the faintest glimmer of hope one might be a letter from Tom. She exited the common room to find Peter waiting by the portrait hole.

"Malfoy is sorry for what he did. Please come to the Great Hall so he can apologize." Peter stated, as she pondered in the portrait hole as to why he was there and how he knew the location of Gryffindor common room.

Frankie was about to deny his request and slam the Fat Lady in his face, but Peter sounded so polite and kind. She couldn't deny one of her closest friends and that's probably why he had been sent in the first place, because she couldn't deny him. It wouldn't hurt her just to hear Malfoy speak, would it? She needed to go tell him off anyway and Malfoy would have Peter’s head if she didn't go. She nodded her head to indicate 'yes' because for some reason her voice box didn't seem to be working. And oddly this didn't seem to bother her as they departed.

Of course, when Frankie arrives there, she immediately regrets leaving her tower. They're having this grand ball with shimmering lights. It looked like the ball on Halloween, except they all wore hideous muggle-version goblin masks. There was still no one she knew there at all. They all were laughing drunkenly and cackling quite wickedly, at the same time, as they spun around in circles. Suddenly, Peter has vanished and she is left alone between the dancers. She wandered, alone and tormented, through the crowd of strangers, looking for Malfoy.

"Where is Malfoy?" she asked, finally regaining her ability to speak. No answer, just more hysterical laughter. Was her inability to find Malfoy somewhat funny? She wasn't dressed in the proper attire of a ball, they must have been laughing at her for that.

"Are you having a good time, miss?" a voice asked behind her. She whipped around to find a boy with blond hair and forest green eyes peering out of a repulsive goblin mask. It wasn't Malfoy's harsh grey eyes and long blonde hair, thankfully, but who?

"Haven't I met you before?" she asked, curiously. His face seemed rather familiar, as if from a dream she had a long, long time ago. But her mind seemed to be in a drunken cloudy haze along with the goblins.

"Maybe you have, maybe you haven't." he answered, mysteriously. The cackles seemed to grow louder as if they were hanging on to their every word, eavesdropping on their trivial conversation. And perhaps they were.

"Give me a straight answer. Have I, or not?" she demanded, with a bit of frustrated pout. She was in no mood for more mind games.

"Same as ever, wanting to know every single little detail of a situation, being so irritatingly curious," he laughed, cruelly continuing on toying with her. His laugh was familiar as well. They had obviously met somewhere before, but where? "It'll be your end, you know."

His threatening tone gave her chills.

"How—do—you know me?" she sputtered, as she tried recovering from the massive chills he had sent right through her. The boy smiled wickedly and started circling around her like a vulture.

"I know everything about you. Your hopes, your dreams, every little thing that runs through your mind," he replied. He stopped abruptly in front of her. "I also know you want to ask me to dance. My answer is, yes, of course…"

"I never—"she started, but suddenly the choice was not hers. He pulled her in and they began to circle with the others.

"Such a graceful dancer. You’ve definitely improved since the first time." he complimented, but that just irritated her more since she had no idea when the first time was.

"Why won't you tell me who you are?" she scowled, as she tried to hold his hand in a way that he wouldn't touch Tom's ring. As if she thought he was trying to take it from her. She didn't know why, but something inside of her told her he was trying to slip it off her finger as they danced.

"There will come a time when everyone will know my name…" he answered, simply. Suddenly, the whole room was spinning too fast for how much they were turning and the cackling goblins had stopped their own dancing to watch her foolishness. She tried to escape him and go for a mad sprint into the crowd, but he pulled her closer. And with that pull came a sharp pain, like a knife in her back.

_Lord Voldemort._

_It's just a dream, it's just a dream. Go away, go away…_

Frankie woke up in a hospital bed with an earsplitting headache. What had happened? She looked at the medicine on the side table near the bed. Had she been sick, or was this yet another dream? She turned around to the other side and let out a small yelp in shock. There was only one other person in the room with her. Sitting in a chair, as close to her bed as possible, was Tom. He seemed to have fallen asleep waiting for her to wake up. She stared closely at his face, something in her mind told her that he wasn't supposed to be there. Her face was absolutely as close as it could be...

"What do you think you're doing?" Tom asked, his eyes suddenly popping open. He didn't sound the least bit tired. Frankie jumped back and fell off the other side of the bed. He laughed slightly, as she fumbled to untangle herself from the bed sheets on the floor. "Honestly, you haven't changed at all."

"Where have you been?" Frankie asked, staring at him if he were some ghost or a hideous monster. That sharp pain pounded every second she looked at him, the pain that told her he wasn't supposed to be there. Then, there was the flash of green light. She gasped in fear as she remembered why he wasn’t supposed to be here.

"I was in Durmstrang, don’t you remember? It was a little too cold for me, though. So, I came back early," he replied, in a reassuring tone. The one he used for lying. However, she was too sickly and tired to notice. “Did I surprise you too much? I guess I should’ve—”

"You died," she answered, quite bluntly, almost all her thoughts returning to her. She remembered almost everything, yet some of the details might've still been a bit unclear. Frankie was silently cursing her wretched damaged brain in this moment especially. “Grindelwald shot you and you died.”

"Where did you get that idea?" Tom asked, in a fake state of curiosity. Hopefully, she was weak enough to let the lies slip right through her. She was the only one his obvious lies never seemed to work on.

"I don't know. It happened, didn't it?" Frankie mumbled, weakly. Even in such an awful state, she was right. He had truly met his end right there in the woods. Not that really anyone, but her, could really confirm it and he was already in the process of making her forget. If she forgot, everything would be as it was once more.

"Well, clearly I'm right here, alive as can be." he answered, trying to sound as chipper and lively as possible. But, like usual, it just came out a little cynical and creepy.

"I suppose it was just another dream then." she murmured, to herself more than anyone. Suddenly, new images swam into her mind. The green light missing him by mere inches, Dumbledore bounding Grindelwald, the battle ending with all of them safe, and Tom had immediately headed off to Durmstrang. How could she had forgotten all of that?

"That's right it was just a dream. Now, lay back down." he cooed, softly. She did as she was told. Her head still ached, she felt so weak and strained. All she wanted to do was go back to sleep, knowing he was finally safely by her bedside watching over her.

"I was so lonely." Frankie admitted, hiding her face a bit in the covers. Usually he would've found it a cute gesture, but he could not possibly imagine the pain she must actually have felt. How must it have felt to drag herself out of bed each day and put on a strong face? Tom surely would have been a bit unhinged, if things had been reversed. Someone would probably be dead by his hand. He did not know who, but obviously someone would have to pay. When they got separated for a long period of times, Tom noticed that he reverted more back to the sociopathic boy he was when he was younger.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for putting you through that." he sighed, softly, as he held onto her hand.

"It wasn't your fault. I just had that awful dream and started fussing over nothing. I mean, you dead, that's impossible. You're right beside me," she laughed, waving her hand out of his along with the apology. She laughed, as if it were all some kind of joke. It probably wasn't the very best thing to do for the situation. However, this was a girl clinging on to the desperation for everything to be as it was before, for everything to be normal. Thankfully, he did not object and scorn her for her comments and actions. He was just as desperate for things to go back to normal too. "Unless—you're not a ghost right?"

"Of course I'm not! Here—"He picked up one of her cold sweated hands again, that was lying on the bed and placed it on his cheek. She stared at him with a confused sort of doe-eyed expression. "See, its flesh. I don't have much, but it's still real."

"Sorry, I just had to make sure," Frankie blushed, as she swiped her hand away. "If you were a ghost, I'm sure Myrtle would love it if you shared her toilet."

"As completely unappealing as that sounds, I'm afraid I would have to decline. The only person I'd ever 'share a toilet' with is you." Tom added, with no hint that he was joking whatsoever. This made Frankie unable to breathe with hysterics. "What's so funny?"

"Ha—oh—nothing." she managed to say, as she was trying her hardest to stop laughing. But the fact he didn't realize what he had just said made her want to laugh harder. It had been such a long time since she had a good laugh.

"Well, you're looking a lot better. Come on, idiot. We're wasting our Sunday." he laughed, as pulled her out of bed. Together they left the hospital wing, went down the many flights of stairs, and out the castle to the tree by the lake.

"Ah, it feels like we haven't done this in forever," Frankie exclaimed, as she let the fresh spring air hit her. The sick, weak feeling had completely vanished and she was back to her normal cheery self at last. "I think I've missed this most of all."

"I feel the same. I could barely take a step outside without freezing to death." Tom added, seeming to be trying to add the fact that he was in Durmstrang every chance he got. Technically, he wasn't lying to her about it being cold. Being as cold as death was the same thing as freezing to it, right?

"I still came here without you, but it wasn't the same…" Frankie smiled, even though it was anything but a happy thought. A lonely girl sitting under the tree she used to sit under with the boy she loved. "Oh yeah, I forgot to give you something. Here—"

"My ring?" he replied, quizzically, staring at the black stone like he’d never seen it before. Tom had forgotten he had given it to her right before the battle.

"Yes, I wore it all this time. Oh, and I have your diary too. Don’t worry I never got around to reading it, anyway."

"Why?"

"Mrs. Bagshot gave them to me. You forgot your pack when we left and I kept it. I wanted to have things to remember you by," she admitted, looking out at the lake. "Stupid really, isn't it?"

"Yes, it's stupid. You won't forget me, even in death." Tom declared, taking her hand in his.

"So, how long was I out for this time?" Frankie asked, curiously.

"Only since yesterday, but it doesn't really matter. You're in the hospital wing all the time, anyway. You basically live there." he answered, quite tauntingly. "Honestly, you are so accident-prone."

"Still can't beat you, though. You were there at least every other day at the end of sixth year." she stated, in the form of a comeback.

"I suppose your right…" he agreed. It was a fact he could not argue. His Horcruxes had made him go there frequently last school year. Ever since the second one, he had been having some minor health problems. She smiled in her small victory and Tom thought she might deserve a small prize for her trivial win over him. Or a punishment for making him lose. No matter which it would definitely be a pleasure for him, after the three month separation. He leaned in…

_"Frankie!"_

A voice had shouted from a distance not too far away. They drew away to see Aidan and Hagrid running towards them and they obviously couldn't just proceed with the two drawing closer. Tom grudgingly turned away, however, he wouldn't let them get away breaking this moment so easily.

"Every single time…"Tom muttered angrily, as he pulled away. Frankie on the other hand did not seem in the slightest bit angry. Of course nothing could possibly rain on her parade today. Even the sight of Hagrid and Aidan were walking towards the spot at a brisk pace.

"It's nice to see you two." Frankie greeted, giving them a small wave. "Were you looking for me?"

"Yes. Ogg needs some help with the unicorns and he sent us to find you." Aidan answered her, yet was staring at Tom.

"Ugh, again. It's not that I don't love them, but can't he have one of you do it. I literally just got out of the hospital wing." she groaned, collapsing onto the grass in protest.

"They're really riled up this time. Only a women can calm em' down at this time." Hagrid insisted. She sighed and let Aidan help her up.

"Is it ok, Tom? It'll only take a few minutes." she asked, as if she needed his approval to go with them. Tom had known her long enough to see that she really wanted to go play with the unicorns and was just acting like she didn't want to go.

"Go ahead and take her. I haven't really had a chance to rest up anyway." Tom answered, nonchalantly, as if they were hauling of some trash. He had some things he had to think about. Also, Aidan had been staring at him oddly the entire time and Tom just wanted an excuse to prey his eyes away from him. Tom didn't know what his deal was, but hopefully it wasn't what he thought it was.

"You seem to be doing better, Frankie?" Aidan inquired, now eying her suspiciously, as the trio walked away from the tree.

"Well, Tom is back. I suppose I'm a bit happier today..." Frankie answered, pretending like she hadn't been a depressed mess for three months. However, Aidan, knowing the full story, wasn't fooled by her façade.

"You don't think it's a little…odd?" he asked, hoping she remembered without him having to say it out loud.

"Odd? Why would it be odd? It's not like he was gone forever." she replied, despite at one point saying something of the sort of him being gone forever.

"But, don't you remember what happened? What you told me?" Aidan tried, but it was no use. She was planning on staying as ignorant as a muggle to magic.

"An elaborate fever dream. That's all it was." she argued, in a monotone voice. Frankie slightly picked up her pace, however, Aidan being on Quidditch and one of Hagrid's steps equaling five of hers, they didn't even fall an inch behind her.

"Frankie, I was there. And it did—"Hagrid tried, but she stopped him in his tracks.

"Did you see it with your own eyes Hagrid? Did it happen right in front of you?" Frankie shot back at him, angrily.

"No, but Abe and Dumbledore said—"

"Clearly, it didn't happen. He's sitting down by the lake right now. People don’t just rise from the dead." Frankie argued over him. She clearly wasn't going to listen to anything they had to say. Aidan sighed and made the gesture for Hagrid to back off a little. Hagrid literally started walking backwards behind them, until he was out of site.

"Listen, you sounded so sincere when you told me and who am I to be questioning you, when this has absolutely nothing to do with me?" Aidan reasoned, but Frankie looked affronted and started picking up her pace again. They weren't even going in the same direction of Ogg's Cabin anymore. "I'm just saying something just doesn't seem right."

She said nothing.

"—and think you're trying to fool yourself with this dream illusion because you know that something isn’t right too," he continued, even though she was as going as far as sticking her fingers in her ears. "You're just believing what he says because you’re blinded by happiness.”

"And you're starting to sound a lot like Quin," she retaliated, finally taking her fingers from her ears. "Just drop this little conspiracy theory of yours or our friendship will end up just like his."

"We’re only trying to protect you—"

"Well, I get too much of that already. You, Quin, Tom, Dylan and the girls. You guys have always silently sworn to protect me. When I don't need it. I’m a witch, I’m tough enough to stand on my own. Why can't anyone see that?" Frankie replied his kind statement with anger. "I've only known you guys for seven years. Dumbledore is the only one that has known me since birth and should be the only one 'protecting me' if anyone!"

“You’ve known us since birth too. I think that gives us the right to care a little.”  He was referring to the fact that their parents had all grown up in Godric’s Hollow and were all in the same year at Hogwarts. Before her parents gone into hiding, she had spent a brief period of time with Aidan, Dylan, Ethan and Quin. They grew up hearing stories about her, knowing there was a secret fifth member of their gang. Meanwhile, she grew up thinking she would be friendless and trapped forever. She didn’t know that she already had four friends waiting to meet her again. Frankie calmed down a little.

“I forgot. I’m sorry. You deserve to care,” she muttered, quietly. "However, you don't need to worry. Tom would never do anything to hurt me, despite how he acts. As far as I'm concerned, he is on your guy's side. You can trust him. I know it's hard to believe and I admit this situation is a little strange, but if you can't trust him, trust me."

"I still trust him. A little less than before, but I still trust him," Aidan replied, honestly. That's what Frankie liked about him. She never had to wonder if he was lying to her. He never did. "Hagrid and Quin are the ones you have to convince."

"They'll never trust him. They hate him too much." Frankie sighed. A smile crept along her face as she eyed the outer trees of the Forbidden Forrest. "Isn't that right, Hagrid?"

"How'd ya' know I was there?" he asked, even though it were sort of obvious. Half-giants couldn't really use trees as good camouflage.

"No tree on earth can hide you from me." she giggled. He looked surprised to see her smile and a little guilty knowing what he was about to say would most likely break it.

"Well, to answer your question, yes. I think he's a no good git." Hagrid answered, bitterly. "Even after seeing ya' with Aragog he accused him of murdering Madeline, sentencing me to Azkaban. Of course I don't trust him one little bit!"

"I can understand that. To be honest I didn't like him for doing that either. I got extremely mad at him for a while." she admitted. Frankie could remember how only two years ago she had witnessed the horrid sight of the Dementors taking Hagrid away. Tom didn't believe her, after all that time, he didn't trust her judgment.

"Why didn't you stay that way?" he asked, curiously. Of course, he would want to know one of his best friends didn't hate his worst enemy.

"Being angry at everyone all the time never solved anything." she stated, strongly. Leri had actually taught her that. If she had stayed mad at Tom, it wouldn't have changed anything. He would've still tried to win her heart, even if she hated his guts. "Now, you weren't lying about those unicorns, right?"

"Of course not."

They both smiled and ran with her all the way to Ogg's Cabin. At least for now they could sink into oblivious happiness. All they had to do was forget.

All the better for Tom.

While the three were off mindlessly frolicking around, Tom sat staring blankly down at his ring resting in the grass underneath the tree. His mind was too transfixed on something actually do anything. Cause, to be perfectly honest, he didn't even know how he came back. It's true that he had two Horcruxes, but surely there had to be a catch to returning as if nothing happened. To him it really did feel like he never left because one minute he was dead and then then the next he was alive again. The whole Horcrux details were a bit fuzzy, but the point was that it had worked. To tired and confused, he dozed off, hoping to free himself from this pain and confusing mess he’d made for himself.

_To willingly sacrifice yourself, tattered soul, you have been given the chance to live once more. However, the next time you meet death, he will not be cheated twice. Dying for sin will bring you ruin in the end. Next time, you must pay at least more than half the price._

" _Not if I have seven. I will cheat death when I achieve this many. Not even he can break such a sacred number."_

The pain went away, however the confusion remained, as he woke up. The words from the disembodied voice sinking in. He looked over to find his ring, but instead, to his surprise, he found Frankie snuggled beside him in the grass. What with getting out of the hospital wing just that day and handling the unicorns, she must have been just as exhausted as he was. Dead exhausted. Tom only thought about the words for a split moment. He had no idea what the voice had meant, nor did he really care at the moment. All he wanted to do was lay back down next to her and continue on sleeping forever.

And that's exactly what they did.


	54. We'll Meet Again

Seven whole years. That's how long they had been able to call this place their home. They laughed here, they made friends here, and all of their happy memories stemmed from there in the castle. But in less than a week them and thirty-eight other kids would be saying good bye and be forcibly thrust into the real world expecting to be able to fend for themselves. Most of them are itching to get out and see the world, however there are a scarce few who want to stay more than anything else in the whole world. For a certain two, especially, Hogwarts had been their one and only home.

The weather was starting to grow hotter and hotter as the days grew longer, yet were still numbered. The flowers were in full bloom and all the various magical bugs had come out to play. The Black Lake glistened in the sunlight and waved at the slightest breeze, while the small tree that sat by it shed a few leaves at a breeze, still trying to get comfortable with its new coat. It was Sunday. The last normal Sunday they would ever have, because next Sunday they graduated.

"You're late."

Tom was sitting beneath the tree, staring down at his faithful nothing-of-interest book, not bothering to address the new arrival other than his initial comment. Suddenly, one of the leaves off to the tree obstructed the words and he shut the book completely, rather than curse nature and brush it aside. Let future Tom try and remember why the hell there was leaf in his book.

"Sorry, it's graduation. The whole 'we'll still be friends after graduation' and the 'I'll send you letters every day’ phase." Frankie answered, in excuse, as she slid down beside him at the base of the tree.

"Not really, most of the people in my house aren't like that. Tom replied. “They’re all stupidly convinced that one day we'll all be working for them. So, they figure what's the use of missing anyone?"

"They all _will_ be working for you, Mr. Minister of Magic." she added, in a-matter-of-fact sort of tone. Everyone, including her, knew Tom was ripe to become the Minister of Magic once he exited school. He was the only one who seemed to disagree.

"We've been over this before. I have no interest in becoming the minister," he groaned, collapsing in the grass and gazing up at the clear blue sky. Tom didn’t want any ministry job in fact. What he needed was a job that would allow him freedom to do whatever he wished. "What about you? Surely, you must have thought of something by now."

"I still have absolutely no idea." Frankie sighed, lying on her back next to him. Her long hair spread out in the grass instantly like vines and the falling sunlight illuminated her face.

"We’re leaving in a week, you know? You might want to get on that." Tom reasoned. She let out a groan of exasperation and turned away from his intent gaze. Hiding it was useless.

"I know. I just can't think of anything that seems right. I'd fail at a desk job in the Ministry and I don't think I would make a good Auror after the whole Grindelwald battle." she protested, in frustration. "I just don't know what to do."

"Come on now, I think you'd do great at any one of those things. Don't you want to be like your parents? Be an Auror." he tried, in hopes to inspire her a little bit. She'd listen to whatever he told her to do, eventually. Tom didn't want her throwing away her future just because her mind could not make itself up.

"I can't go through the fear of losing friends, go to work every day thinking 'who's going to die today?' or 'which ones are going to go off on a mission that could kill them, while I have to sit back in my desk and just let it happen?'," Frankie snapped at the mention. Her parents had both died Aurors, her sister had died an Auror, she didn't want to die an Auror. It was too painful of a death to suffer. "Besides, Quin has told me he'll be taking his first test a few weeks after we graduate. Are you really ok with the two of us working in the same department and getting the same lunch hour and all that?”

“Well, if he's just going to die, I suppose its ok with me," Tom reported, only partially joking. The thought of Frankie and Quin working together just made him remember when they were dating, which made him feel sick. "And if I'm Minister, I'm pretty sure I can take my lunch whenever I want."

"It just won't work for me, like it won't work for you." she replied, vaguely, as she began picking the nearby daisies into a small bouquet.

"Let's just keep anything Ministry related out of our future then."

She looked at him skeptically.

"Our future? Are you implying that we’re staying together after this?" Frankie questioned, spotting the loophole in his statement. The ideas for the future so far had them staying together after graduation and so far none of them had been working. Their separation seemed inevitable.

"If you think I'm just going to leave you somewhere and be one of those people who you never see again after graduation, you're dead wrong. I promise we'll find a way to make it work for the both of us," Tom blurted, suddenly grasping her hand. He let go instantly, but not so much out of embarrassment. Only to raise his pinky. "Promise?"

"Yes, I promise." she answered, as their pinkies were locked together. It was a sign that they would not be divided so easily. As long as they were intertwined, nothing could ever tear them apart.

"Good. Now, let's start heading back." he smiled. They headed off to the castle, once again in a little world of their own creation. It didn't last long though. It never did. Dumbledore stood on the steps waiting, most likely for one of them. He always seemed to want something from them.

"Good afternoon, you two. Is it alright if Frankie and I have a little chat?" Dumbledore asked, as they slowly approached him. Frankie held a curious, yet guilty look. It was the kind of look you get when you think you're in trouble, yet you don't know why. Tom surely didn't want to give her up now, but he couldn't go up against Dumbledore. He always won.

"But of course, sir." Tom answered, politely stepping aside. Her eyes begged him to stay, not to just leave her there, but as much as wanted to stay with her he just couldn't. Dumbledore had strangely been keeping quiet about Tom’s sudden rise from the dead and he was not about to push this man after all the clever lying he’d done to erase that event from existence. Tom spotted Peter and Ellyn in the distance and started briskly walking to join them.

"What did you want to talk about, sir?" she asked, once she watched Tom walk completely out of sight. It was odd. She didn’t think he’d give up so easily and just let Dumbledore take her. Normally, he’d object and argue with him.

"I was out on a walk, admiring the greenery of the school, and I couldn't help but over hear your conversation with Tom," Dumbledore explained, his expression suddenly dampened. "It would seem you're having trouble deciding on what to do with your future."

"Yes, sir." Frankie answered, gloomily adverting her eyes to the ground. It was humiliating, it was deplorable. A Head Girl who didn't have any idea what she wanted to do with her future. However, Dumbledore did not look at her with shame or pity.

"Do not fret about it so, my dear. For many it takes years to realize which path they want to travel." he assured her, but she still looked rather worried. "Never in a million years did I think I would become a Transfiguration teacher."

"Do you like teaching here, Professor?" she asked, curiously. He smiled at her. It was a rather good question.

"It is one of the greatest decisions I've ever made in my life." he answered her. She grinned at his answer, as well. She couldn't imagine him being anywhere else but Hogwarts. Just like her, he was meant to be here. "Have you enjoyed attending school here?"

"Yes, very much so. I've learned so much from this place. It's always been like home to me," Frankie answered joyfully, silently looking back in her mind a bit at all her memories. Not all of them were good, but they were all still precious to her heart. "I wish I didn't have to leave."

"If you want to stay, I see no reason why you cannot." Dumbledore added, sounding way too casual to be serious. His comment had hit her with such an impact he had made her stop in her tracks, while he slowly walked on as if he hadn't said anything.

"What? Are you serious, sir?" she asked, frantically, as she ran to catch back up with him. He couldn't be serious. He just had to be joking with her. However, Albus Dumbledore was not usually the type to joke around.

"Of course. I've needed a sort of apprentice to help me with my work load, you see. I've been growing older as of late—"

"You don't look old to me sir? Aren’t you only a little bit older than my parents?" Frankie argued. Although, his auburn hair was greying, in the wizarding world old was considered to be a whole lot older. He was making excuses.

"Ah, yes that's true, but if you haven't noticed you’re getting older too." he countered her argument. Frankie hadn't really noticed it but then again no one really ever does. She really had grown older since she had gotten here. Her hair was longer as were her arms and her chest had grown a considerable bit as well. She was still not exceptionally tall, but not incredibly short either. She was a typical eighteen year old witch and these were the signs that were telling her that her school days were over. It was time to make some kind of decision about her future. "So, what do you think of my offer? It would just be a place holder until you figure out what you actually want to do with your life, of course."

"Do you really think that's something I could do?" she debated, quickly. But really thinking about it she could leave anytime she felt was right. It would only be temporary, not forever. Once she figured out what she wanted to do, she could pursue it at any time. He was just giving her a bit more time.

"If Hagrid can, so can you." he replied, with a sure air of confidence. Frankie still looked quite unsure.

"Yes, but he's sure to become the Gamekeeper. That's what he's decided on doing. What if I never figure out what I want to do?" Frankie argued.

"You will eventually, my dear. And perhaps by then you might find it had been right in front of you all this time," Dumbledore answered, calmly. "Will you accept my offer?"

"Yes, sir. I'll stay…" she seemed to find herself saying, after some empty minded thinking.

He smiled in a way making him look even more fatherly and wise then he already did. They walked on, while she pondered her decision. It wasn't the most grown up decision to make, but maybe she didn't want to be an adult just yet. Perhaps, she just wanted to stay a child just a little bit longer.

Tom now walked the empty corridors, sighing heavily. Peter and Ellyn had decided to go back to the common room, but he thought he’d wander for a bit, see if Dumbledore had released Frankie yet. That man seemed to drain him with every single meeting. No matter how small and insignificant the encounter, he made Tom's head throb with an uneasy feeling. It had been months since Tom had suddenly returned from the grave and yet he was currently allowed to be living a breezy seventh year for some reason. Dumbledore surely must have known of Tom's temporary death and yet he hadn’t said a word about it. Why hadn’t they taken Tom off to Azkaban? Dumbledore is one of the greatest wizards of his generation, not even Tom could deny it after seeing him in action, so why is he always acting as if he knows nothing? Tom stopped abruptly to notice a wispy white figure sitting in its usual spot in the stone frame, longingly gazing into oblivion.

"Good evening, Helena." Tom greeted, politely. She instantly broke out of her intent gaze into space and turned around to see who was talking to her. Although, since not many really talked to her in the first place, it didn't take her long to figure it out.

"Good evening, Tom. Has your health been well lately?" Helena asked, as she glided over to him.

"Yes, I've been feeling a lot better nowadays. What about you?" he asked in return, but then the sudden realization hit him. She was dead. Health was no problem. "Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot again."

"It's alright. I've been feeling well. Well, for a dead person that is." she answered, surprisingly, with a bit of a joking air. She was never the type to joke around, partly because she never really had anyone to joke around with. She still sounded like a rather unfortunate soul, though. "You'll be graduating soon won't you?"

"In about a week, yes." Tom sighed, ruefully.

"I never got to graduate…"Helena gloomed, as she returned to her usual spot on the stone frame. “They'll start making fun of me again once you have left."

"I'm sure that isn't true." he assured her, but it seemed to have no effect.

"Everyone hates me. I’m a liar." Helena sighed, sounding more like Myrtle then the daughter of Ravenclaw. Surely, she did not think this way when she was alive.

" _I_ don't hate you," Tom stated, truthfully. He did not hate her really. In truth he was rather fond of her, for a ghost. She was intelligent and clever, quite like himself. However, she had something he wanted and that changes a few things. "And I hate almost everyone."

"What about the Head Girl? Do you hate her?" she asked, a bit skeptically. Surely, she had seen Frankie and Tom walking through the castle together. And perhaps she might've been just a smidge jealous.

"I've known her since I was a child. Surely, you must understand," Tom replied, in excuse. He had always complained to his fellow Slytherin roommates how insufferable she was to him and how much he hated her, which he didn't ever want to have say again. "Haven't you ever had a friend like that?"

"Yes. I had one once," Helena replied. She cringed as she seemed to think about this person more and more. Tom had seen her give this look before, always the same exact icy voice to go along with it "But he betrayed me…"

"Well, she hasn't betrayed me, so I see no reason to toss her aside." he snapped. Her gaze grew cold with his sudden harshness and intentionally turned away from him, but did not run. Giving Tom the opportunity to redeem himself. "I'm sorry. It must hurt a lot to be betrayed by someone you trusted."

"It did. It felt like, well, a stab through the chest to put it quite frankly." She turned back to him. It would seem he had fixed his mistake for the time being. "Would you like to hear how I died, Tom? Why I cannot learn to trust anyone?"

"If you're willing to tell me, I'm happy to listen." Tom replied, quite charmingly. He walked over and sat down next to her in the stone frame, sitting so close his left shoulder went into hers.

"A long time ago, when I was a bit younger then you are now, I went to Hogwarts and was sorted into Ravenclaw. I had a rather dreadful time here though. I was not as smart or as clever as my mother. My only friend was the man who is now the Bloody Baron. He was a bit hot-tempered most of the time, but he usually tried not to snap at me because he held a different sort of feeling for me," Helena explained. Tom nodded, gesturing he understood. It was like his situation with Frankie. The angry boy secretly in love with the kind girl he's known since childhood. "Then, when I didn't make Head Girl, the teasing got a whole lot worst. They kept saying that if I really were the daughter of Ravenclaw surely I should've made Head Girl. I was humiliated, I felt so stupid, so envious of my mother's cleverness and I just couldn't take it anymore…"

"It's alright, Helena. I won't judge you." he assured her, but like everything else he was simply stringing her along. The diadem was just within his reach now.

"I stole my mother's precious diadem and ran away. My mother had sent the Baron to track me down and I ended up having to hide the diadem. He begged me to return with him and told me of his feelings. I rejected him and in an angry rage he stuck his blade through my heart. Ten times..." The agony and pain was drifting through her voice. She clutched her stomach as if he was stabbing her all over again.

"What about the diadem? Did he ever find it?" Tom asked, trying not to sound too worried or panicked. He wouldn't have wanted to spend all this time cozying up to the wrong ghost only to find out it was somewhere completely different. Perhaps not even anywhere at all.

"It's most likely still where I left it. I don't think he was thinking about it clearly while he was stabbing himself to death." she replied, darkly. "I honestly wish he did find it though. He would've destroyed it for playing a cause my death. That crown is a symbol of my greatest regret. It no longer has a place in the world if it is not sitting on my mother's head."

"Why can't it be destroyed now?" he asked, curiously. It was coming, the answer to all his questions, and the reward for all his hard work. All she had to do was tell him where she hid it.

"It can be destroyed, I just can't do it. Since, I'm in my current form and I'm the only person who knows of its whereabouts, the diadem is destined to live on forever." Helena answered. Tom wouldn't stand for that.

"Then, tell me where it is. I promise I'll destroy it for you." Tom stated, in a confident voice that seemed to guarantee this. It was a guarantee lie, but how was she to know. She wasn't as clever as her mother and certainly not as clever as him.

"You would do that for me? But, why?" she asked, confused and yet afraid. He was promising her greatest wish to her after knowing her only a short time in death. Why would he do that for her? It just didn't make any sense.

"I'm not like the others, you must have realized that by now. I understand you." he replied. He was rather lucky he could use that as his ace. "Don't you trust me?"

"I do trust you, Tom…"she smiled, softly. But the short-lived smile soon faded and her voice grew grim once more. "It's in Albania, in a hollowed out tree. Please get rid of it, Tom. You will be able to, won't you?"

"You have my word. I'll start looking the moment I get out of here." he responded, giving her a low bow as if she were actually royalty. However, as he turned his back and headed away from the courtyard, she could not see the sickly evil grin that had grown on his face.

Finally, he had gotten her…

"Frankie, can you toss me my jumper you borrowed? I need to start packing." Dylan was cramming her belongings into her trunk at incredible speed, not even checking what she was packing was even hers or not.

"You haven't even started yet." Frankie sighed, as she tossed Dylan the lavender color sweater lying on her bed.

"Can't trust her to pack anything till the very last minute." Bina teased as she sat on her neatly made bed. All the girls were pretty much packed and only take out what was needed at this point. Except Dylan of course.

"Shut up! Packing means leaving. I'm just trying to delay the inevitable…" she answered, growing rather glum.

"Save your whining for the secret sleepover in the common room tonight." Bina groaned, as she tossed a pillow at her. Like always, it hit its mark.

"Are you guys sure this is a good idea?" Frankie asked, nervously. Unlike the others and their seventh year freedom, she had the Head Girl implications. She had total responsibility and needed to set a good example over all the years below them. "The other years are going to get pretty angry when they find the whole seventh year in the common room sleeping."

"Screw what they think, they’re below us. What could they possibly do?" Bina answered, quite harshly. But she soon noticed Frankie's nervous and hurt expression. "If it concerns you so, we'll wake up before anyone comes down."

"Gosh, try to have a little fun why don't you." Katy added from the sidelines, as she sat on her bed fiddling with her hair.

"Yeah, the party isn't going to be as much fun unless you relax a little, Miss Head Girl." Dylan stated, even though she was being a downer a few moments earlier. "We're not going to be able to have fun together much longer, might as well enjoy it."

"Well, I suppose we should get going then." Frankie smiled, as she swiped the box of Crystallised Pineapple off her drawer and ran for the stairs. An early graduation gift from Slughorn, she might as well eat them with friends. The rest of the girls grabbed some supplies and ran down the stairs to the common room after her, like overly excited first years.

The common room was soon empty of exam tired fifth years and was filled with laughter of the seventh years. Fluffy bed comforters lined the floor with about twenty puffy pillows made the floor look like a cloud and various varieties of candies made the air smell sweet and fragrant. All ten were already throwing Bertie Bots at each other and chatting so loudly that most likely all the years could hear them.

"Anyone got any favorite memories?" Dylan asked the entire group. After a while, they finally all settled into a circle, to reminisce about their experiences at school.

"Our first Christmas." Ethan answered, immediately. He and Frankie exchanged secret smiles while everyone gave off similar answers like. Bina’s was one time when Paul, “the second place prince of the class of 45” tripped down several moving staircases. While Paul remarked how he found the many faces Frankie made every year when she got Bertie Bott’s from Quin quite comedic. Quin enjoyed the first year Quidditch game and brought up many other matches Ethan and Aidan played with him on the house team. Aidan enjoyed the Halloween contests, the one where Frankie got scared by Hagrid being his favorite. He and Dylan had been successfully scared several first years together, before Frankie went running past them and they had to go looking for her. There were so many memories over the past seven years, people were going again and again, remembering new moments. The nonsense of Professor Kettleburn, adventures with Ogg, Valentine’s Day horror stories. Strangely nobody said anything about second year, though.

"What about you, Frankie?" Ethan asked her, noticing her intent listening to everyone else's memories yet the fact she had not given one of her own.

"I've had too many good memories here.” Frankie answered, truthfully. But that wouldn't suffice in the group. It was the end of their time here, surely she of all people would have a memory to share.

"Come on, just pick one." Quin shouted, from all the way from the other side of the circle, which for some reason stuck out among the others shouting the exact same thing.

"Well, if I must choose only one, Sunday walks I suppose." she answered, with a smile. Even though it was not a onetime memory, they were what seemed to stick in her mind the most. Frankie could recall them all in her mind. Although, they went to the same place almost every time, the topics they chatted about, the current circumstances they were under at each time, their feelings. They were always different. That's why she remembered every single one.

"Pssh, I should've figured she'd say something about Tom." Quin snapped, with a smidge of bitterness in his voice. Everyone had heard it, the small bit of unhappiness towards the couple.

"Are you still jealous, Quin?" Dylan asked, quite bluntly. No one but her would've dared say it aloud, but they were all thinking it. Even though Quin said he was perfectly fine with it, there were still moments where he did not seem okay. Frankie did not scorn him for it though. She believed he had the right to be as mad as he wanted for as long as he wanted, considering what she’d done.

"I am not!" he shouted back, immediately. Although, it was rather clear that he was to everyone else, even her. Frankie liked to pretend that she didn't notice, it would be easier for both of them. "That's in the past already..."

"Yes, the distant past of November." Bina chimed in from the side, as she was busy braiding Katy's hair. He shot her a glare to shut up and she shot one back saying make me, making the room quite tense.

"Past is past, regardless. Can we just forget it? It's ruining the party." Frankie added, quite calmly despite the subject of the conversation. Everyone seemed to take heed of her expression and example and dropped the toxic topic completely.

The time was soon spent with different strategies to stay awake, dancing on the clouds of comforters to whatever they could find on the radio, eating Coffee Toffees, and even some spells. However, soon they all sunk into an inevitable, comatose slumber.

In Slytherin dorm, the seventh years were also having a sort of celebration. It was not of good spirits and good fun, but they were up just as late as the Gryffindors.

Tom and Peter sat on the emerald green couch at what was probably around midnight, with Ellyn sitting in between them. With them there was no candy or bed sheets spread on the floor, instead they all sat in the chairs and on the couches in the common room listening to the Bloody Baron tell stories. The one he was telling currently was his whole entire life from life to afterlife. He spoke quite often of Helena, yet never told her name. Tom was the only one who could really understand the story completely, being told of his past with Helena a few hours prior, for everyone else it left a bunch of mysterious gaps.

"My first deathday party, of course she didn't come, but…"he continues on. Most at this point looked to be dead themselves. It seemed like he would troll on forever, but thankfully, after a long while, he finished and wished them all good night. Finally, they could speak freely again.

"God, I thought he'd never stop talking. That was incredibly boring." Leri groaned, the second the Baron had gone through the wall.

"Well, some people enjoy hearing about history, even if you don't." Ellyn chimed in. Leri got up from her spot on in a chair and walked to them.

"I wasn't talking to _you_." she spat coldly at Ellyn. Ellyn seemed to cringe at her old friend's cold words. They stung.

"You weren't talking to anyone in specific, Leri. She has every right to answer." Peter stated, rushing to her defense. He was blocking Ellyn from her because surely any moment she'd go off and smack her again. Even Tom had unconsciously drawn himself a little closer to Ellyn, to protect her.

"Stop being such a pest, Leri." Tom added, not even looking up from his book to acknowledge her existence at all. Tom's comments of course were always the ones to set off bombs.

"I wasn't talking to any of _you_!" she hissed angrily, before stomping towards the stairs. She stopped at the steps and turned to face them all again. "I can't wait to get out of here. You people are beneath me."

Then something outstanding happened. Tom started laughing, an uncontrollable hysterical laugh. It was truly a sight to behold if anyone was looking at him. The others were already too busy laughing as well.

"Someone needs to get off her high horse." Lestrange laughed, yet still somehow managed to sound pretty smug and high himself.

"It looks like we pissed her off pretty bad." Avery laughed along with him. Both of them were almost falling out of their chairs by now.

"The fault was all hers." Tom stated, coldly, slightly coming to his regular senses and calming down.

"I can't believe you used to like her." Cackletta remarked, as if she hadn't been hanging around Leri all this time. However, no one could really blame her for wanting to break away from Leri’s control. It just was rather sad she took this long to do it.

"I didn't." Tom stated. It had been something he wanted to make quite clear for a while now. And for a second time that night that the group of Slytherins had laughed over something that wasn't solely for the purpose of hurting others. Well, except Leri. After getting rid of her it actually did feel like they were able to talk freely once more. And so they did, all night long.

Frankie didn't know why but she was the only one to wake from her dead slumber. She sat alone in the darkness, gazing at everyone around her. Suddenly, she was on her feet like a sleep walker and headed out the portrait hole. She was well of aware of what she was doing, she just didn't know why. Perhaps she just wanted a midnight snack. The house elves were happy to prepare her a plate of sugar cookies with warm milk, despite the late hour. Frankie sat at the kitchen table, arguing that the house elves should go get some rest while she ate. However, they merely waved her request away, insisting that it was alright. Apparently they were always awake at this time, beginning to prepare for yet another breakfast. Once she was finished she was passing by the Great Hall to go back up to her common room when she saw a figure. She ducked however in the dim light she realized the figure was a familiar one. Tom sat on the bottom step of the stairs, appearing to be in deep thought. He must've not been able to sleep as well, how could he on a night such as this?

"What are you doing here, Tom?" Frankie asked, as she walked over to join him on the step.

"I should ask you the same thing. Roaming the castle in the middle of the night. It’s not like you to go wandering off alone." Tom replied, for some reason not sounding the least bit tired at the ghastly late hour. He always was somewhat of a creature of the night.

"Something was telling me to come here," she answered, mystically. She rested her head on his shoulder, probably not intent on actually sleeping there, but just resting her eyes for the moment. "And, what brought you here?"

"Just getting some air. It's getting hard to think in the common room right now." he replied back. They were acting just about as rowdy as the Gryffindors were on a regular basis. Naturally, he was not very used to it.

"What's there to think about?" Frankie asked, drowsily, trying not to become completely knocked out on his shoulder.

"Well, unlike you, I'm thinking of a solution to our dilemma." Tom snarled at her, accidently. The longer her head remained on his shoulder, the sleepier and snappier he became. Luckily, she removed herself moments later. Her face was contorted with guilt. It only took him a moment to figure out there was something wrong with her. She wasn't telling him something. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Dumbledore said he's going to let me stay here and work for him, until I figure out what to do. I'll get to stay here with Hagrid and Ogg—"

"You're staying here?" he asked, for conformation of what she had said was real or not. However, Tom had the sinking feeling that she was not lying. He would've been able to tell if she was.

"Yes, I am. Is that a problem?" Frankie asked, clearly not getting the implications of her staying. Or at least not acknowledging them.

"Of course not. It's just that Dumbledore won't allow me to stay you know..." Tom started and you could already tell by the look on her face she didn't like where it was going.

"Why not? If I can, why not you?” she protested, but his mind seemed certain.

"You've always been close to him, like a daughter he never had. He wants you to stay because ever since your parents died it's been his job to look after you. He was probably looking over you secretly, watching you even once you came to the orphanage. And that's how he discovered me," Tom explained. He smiled as he remembered their meeting, how she stared at him from behind Mrs. Cole and despite what everyone had told her, was determined to befriend him. She made that place just a little bit better the day she walked through doors. "Do you really think he would have found me without you? I would have been stuck in that hellhole to rot if you hadn't come along."

"Just let me talk to him—"

"No, he doesn't trust me. He'll never let me stay." he sighed. She scowled at him like he was just giving up, he was trying to leave her and perhaps he was. For now.

"Why not?" she asked, with a bit of a pout. It wasn't fair. Their separation wasn't fair. It was something worth fighting for. Yet he didn't seem to want to fight for it anymore.

"He won't let me take you from him…"

However, Tom could not help but try, despite what he said. He desperate not to lose her, giving up so easily wasn't really his style. He went straight up to Dippet's office after his last class late Wednesday afternoon. If he could get Dippet on board with this crazy plan he had concocted over Monday and Tuesday, then they would be able to stay together.

"Come in, Tom." Dippet called from his desk, as Tom hung in the doorway. He entered the room and sat down immediately. "What is it you wanted to talk about?"

"I was wondering—if—I could—"Tom sputtered nervously, suddenly incapable of speech.

"Out with it, my boy. I haven't got all day." he remarked, rather high and mighty. Like some sort of king with not enough time in a day to run his kingdom.

"Well, I've heard that Merrythought is retiring soon and I was thinking about applying for the position." Tom said, rather quickly. He wasn't exactly supposed to know this, but what else was he supposed to use this useless information for.

"You? Apply for the Defense Against the Dark Arts job? Now, why would a bright boy such as yourself shoot for such a low star in the sky?" Dippet questioned. It seemed absolutely preposterous a boy like Tom wanting to stay behind here instead of going out into the world. "There are far brighter stars in the sky. Although much higher, they’re definitely not out of reach for a brilliant, young man like yourself."

"The brightest star is here in the castle…"Tom muttered, softly. As long as she was in this castle, he would go as far as to break in if he had too. He would not just leave her here. She was his star.

"Surely teaching Dark Arts isn't your passion, boy. You’re Head Boy, with top grades in his year. Even I didn't achieve that and I'm the Headmaster." he laughed, patting Tom's shoulder.

"Then perhaps I should be taking your job then." Tom added, sounding dead serious. Although, he really didn't want either of them. Tom despised children and wouldn't want to deal with them all day long. But if it kept him here…

"Ha! I've still got a few years left in me, Tom. I’m not retiring for quite a while." Dippet laughed, like it was the funniest thing he had ever heard. He thought Tom was joking… "Take my advice go travel around for a few years and then come back here if you're still interested in teaching I'll consider it. But after seeing what's out there, I doubt you'll want to come back."

"As long as the star is here, I'll be back, sir." Tom answered, giving a small smile. He gave Dippet a low bow and left without another word. Someday he would truly be back.

The bells chimed a new hour of day and all students walked to the Great Hall with black pointy hats upon their heads. It was Sunday, graduation day at last. Frankie was among the crowd, holding Dylan's hand as they are slowly being moved towards the entrance of the hall. She had only seen Tom for a split second before he grabbed her empty hand.

"Meet me after the ceremony. We'll go for our last walk before I depart back to London…" he whispered, in her ear. Suddenly, she felt the warmth of his grasp vanish as he was forcibly shoved towards the Slytherin table. She gazed at the spot he once stood wishing he could've stayed by her side at least a little bit longer as she and Dylan continued to slowly walk to their own house table. As soon as they were all seated, Dippet walked up to the podium and began.

"Another year has come and gone. The time passes by so quickly it's almost a wonder how it all began. I'm sure a lot of you graduating today can barely remember your first days here," Dippet paused as he took a small moment to smile at all the ones graduating. "Whether this has been your first year with us or your last, I can assure you the friends and you have made here and the memories you have shared are something you will carry with you for the rest of your days. And I hope you who are going out into the world hold them close. It's a whole other world beyond this castle. Go see it while you can…"

Just like that it was over. Kids ran the halls like five year olds overjoyed in the glory that was now summer, the ones who were supposed to be eighteen and adults especially. Once everyone had changed from their uniforms and had grabbed their things they slowly started shuffling to the train. However, there was no rush, the train wasn’t going to depart for another two hours. The only ones who seemed to take advantage of the time were Frankie and Tom. He found her waiting in front of the castle ready to go already. Slyly, he slithered up next to her and pulled a bouquet of light pink carnations from thin air.

"Congratulations, Miss Gryffindor. We finally did it." Tom remarked, as he handed her the bouquet. Frankie accepted them and almost instantly buried her face into the petals, until she was satisfied with the smell.

"Thanks Tom." she smiled, as she lifted her face from the flowers. They started walking slowly down the usual path, as if almost trying to burn everything into their memories before leaving. Even though Frankie wasn't leaving, she still wanted to remember being there with him. "Did you say all your goodbyes?"

"Only Ellyn and Peter, really. Did they tell you? Apparently, their getting married…" he answered, a bit more grimly then he really meant. They arrived beneath the tree like always, nothing should’ve been different, only it still felt like a definite end.

"Ellyn told me right after we were released. Aren’t you happy for them?" she replied, cozily taking a seat in the damp grass with her flowers.

Tom was happy for them, he truly was, but there was just something about it that made him a bit uneasy. He didn't know what it was, "Yes, but you should be overjoyed right now. You did get them together after all."

"You just missed it, I was jumping up and down like a maniac a few minutes ago," she laughed, waving her arms madly imitating herself prior to his arrival. She stopped and smiled up at him. "Head Girl and Maid of Honor never thought I'd ever get to be both."

"Their planning to have the wedding in late August and as Maid of Honor and Best Man I have a feeling we are both required to attend." Tom smiled and so did she. They both knew what it meant.

"So, this goodbye is only temporary?" she asked him, getting to her feet. She hugged the bouquet like a new born baby in her arms and stared at him with her hazel eyes. He stood up and he couldn't help but kiss her right then and there just to assure her it wasn't.

"It always was." he answered, as he pulled away. Tom boarded the train to go back to platform 9 ¾ a few minutes later, leaving her standing on the platform behind him. She held on to his hand until they were separated by the door. The slightly teary eyed girl gave a small wave as the train started to pull away and he wanted more than anything to hang out the window waving back like the first years had done earlier. However, he merely pressed his face against the cold glass and stared at her, until she was gone.


	55. Two Very Familiar Faces

Tom regretted leaving practically the second Frankie and the school had drifted out of his sight. Why had he let them be so easily separated after everything he’d done? He should've fought harder, like he had when Frankie was about to be adopted, ready to take drastic measures, but instead he just boarded the train. And for what? To roam the country searching for a magic tiara. The whole decision was just proving that he couldn't really protect anything he cared about and, quite possibly, didn’t even deserve to have anything to care about in the first place. He had chosen this path, to find and make yet another Horcrux regardless of her. Frankie’s ideals were clear, she thought Horcruxes were vile and when she eventually found out their relationship would be finished. It surely wasn’t possible to have them both. However, Tom simply suppressed all the doubt and complex questions, for now. The first and only thing he had to do was to go get the diadem. Once he had that, Tom would just have to wait for a stupid wedding to see her face again. But, once that was over, he wouldn’t dare let her go. He was determined to have everything he wanted, he just wasn't strong enough to have it all yet. Soon he would be stronger than any other, soon he would be the only wizard to achieve absolute immortality. He would be invincible.

Tom had been traveling throughout Albania and was still had close to nothing on the whereabouts of the Diadem. He basically had to check every single tree, in every single forest, in every single town. Magic was being absolutely useless in finding it. The diadem was probably protected from things like Summoning Charms, so it could only be found by muggle hands and methods. Rowena was clever and, unfortunately for Tom, just had to make sure her precious personal artifact was clever as well. Thus Tom continued the tedious task of checking every single tree in Albania for a silly little tiara.

He had just Apparated into yet another small town late June afternoon and was already on the verge of giving up. Searching every single tree in the country was too damn hard of a task to do without magic. He would’ve just asked Helena specifically where it was, if he hadn’t been so worried that he’d come off too eager and she’d distrust him. Utterly exhausted and looking for a place to catch his breath for a moment, Tom walked to a small little lake on the edge of town where he found a tree a few feet from the edge. After knocking on it, just to be sure, he sat at the base and sighed heavily. He looked out at the sparkling lake surface and up at the small tree. They reminded him of their spot, of her, and he decided to close his eyes. What was she doing at this moment? Surely she must have been doing the same as him. He could just picture the girl with the long hazel hair sitting beneath the tree beside him. Perhaps, if he opened his eyes she would be. And so he opened his eyes, but was not expecting to see a familiar pair of pale blue eyes surrounded by a field of fiery red. Tom jerked his head up in surprise and collided with her forehead. This girl had obviously been staring at him for reason and with those features it could’ve only been,

“Marjorie! What are you doing here?" Tom snapped, seeming to be rather irritated by her sudden presence. He rubbed his temple and closed his eyes, hoping he was just hallucinating. However, she didn't disappear and neither did the girl who walked up beside her. A girl covered with freckles with the fading olive eyes and a high dark brown ponytail. She was more of a surprise then Marjorie. He hadn't seen her since they were fourteen at least. Miss Amy Benson, the Crowned Princess of Wool's Orphanage.

"Who are you talking to, Marjorie?" she asked Marjorie, not even noticing a boy she had known since they were four was sitting on the grass staring up at her. She hadn’t even look at him. If she had, she would’ve recognized him immediately. Perhaps she had looked and, even after all this time, Amy didn't like to acknowledge his existence until she had too.

"You know Amy?" Tom asked Marjorie, pointing at Amy. Even though it was obvious they knew each other. He almost sounded like he didn't even believe it was her. But there was no mistaking Amy Benson. He had truthfully known her longer than even Frankie and was always one of his favorites to torture. So, despite her slightly newer clothes and well groomed face, he could have still recognized her even if she was standing a mile away.

"Hey, how do you—"Amy started to question, but finally she looked at him and the realization spread across her face. She knew this boy too. "Tom…"

"So, you know her too?" Marjorie smiled at him. He nodded silently as he got up off the ground.

"Hang on, you two know each other?" Amy asked, staring at the both of them looking rather wide-eyed and confused.

"Yes, but you two—"Marjorie started, but Tom wouldn't let them go on forever about how they all magically knew each other.

"Everybody knows everyone! Would you two cut it out?" Tom snapped angrily. The girls had made his headache throb harder and harder by the minute. Both of them were as animated as ever.

"Still the same as ever I see." Marjorie laughed, even though she had only seen his non-princely act a few times. She smiled at him as it were some sort of clever joke between just the two of them.

"I could say the same for you." he smiled back at her.

"So, Marjorie, I didn't know you know Tom. I've known him since we were like what, Tom, four?" Amy added, suddenly.

"Sounds about right." Tom answered, thinking back on it a bit. He could still remember the day he met Amy Benson. Mrs. Cole had introduced her and she assimilated into the group immediately. She had flat out told him she thought he was 'icky' in the first hour of knowing him. Tom had sent a whole bunch of rats in her room the following night. The next morning, Tom had gone to check his handy work and she burst out of her room, screaming. She was shivering and terrified, clinging on to Tom for dear life, even though she didn't like him. That's how mortified his actions had made her and they only got worst with age and magical ability.

"Oh, Tom, is Amy the girl you're in love—?"

"No, she's not. That girl's one of our kind, Marjorie." Tom answered, quickly stopping her train of thought. Tom wouldn't let her finish that sentence. Ever.

"Are you guys talking about, Frankie?" Amy asked, thankfully not addressing the 'one of our kind' part.

"Do you know her? Is that her name, Tom?" Marjorie questioned, growing more and more excited by the second. He hadn't told her anything about Frankie, except he had feelings for the girl, not her.

"No—"

"Of course, he's in love with her. Ever since they first met, he’s been crazy about her." Amy interrupted, right across his denial. Tom glared daggers at her, naturally. He hadn’t figured out how he felt about Frankie until a mirror told him, yet apparently it had been obvious to everyone around them for a long time. Unfortunately, his glare was the only thing about him that did not frighten Amy in the slightest.

"You weren't there when we first met." Tom stated, firmly. Amy just smiled coyly at him.

"In the orphanage garden, by the little white table,” she answered, quite smugly. Marjorie looked amazed, while Tom was trying to keep his deadly gaze. But it was hard to hide his surprise at the news. How did _she_ know? He surely hadn't told her.

"How did you—"

"I went to the orphanage too, Tom. I might have been playing in the garden with the other kids when you two met, but don't think I wouldn’t notice a girl pop out of nowhere who'd dare and sit with you," Amy replied, with a hint of a smile. Perhaps, she did remember seeing a girl who had appeared by thin air go and sit across from the boy who could make bad things happen. She had guts, whoever she was, "Also, Frankie might have mentioned it once or twice."

"What's she like? Tom refuses tell me any details about her." Marjorie asked, fake-pouting a smidge.

"Well, when she first came officially to the orphanage, she went straight to try and make friends with the most no-good-guy in the place. She didn’t remember him, but she was determined to be his friend," she answered glancing over at Tom and smiling. "She was the sweetest little thing. Sadly, she was never treated as such. I regret to say I didn't always treat her very nice."

"Why not? What'd she do to you?" Marjorie asked, a little bit too eagerly. Perhaps she wanted to hear something bad about this girl, something wrong with her.

"Nothing. She never did anything to her." Tom answered for her. It was the truth, but of course it was not the answer she had been waiting to hear. Surely, this girl of his must have hurt someone else besides her, but even she couldn't be held responsible for causing her pain. That had truly been only Tom's doing. There just had to be something to blame the girl he loved on.

"That’s absurd. Surely, something had—"

"No, he's right, Marjorie. She had never done anything to me and I treated both her and Tom like an infectious disease most of the time," Amy answered calmly, despite Marjorie's slightly unhinged attitude. "It's quite stupid when I look back at it now. We all actually believed Tom and Frankie had these strange powers that caused bad things to happen."

"You and Billy used to call it 'cursing', I believe, right?" Tom, trying not to cringe at the very memory. Amy and Billy had both tried to make his life more of a living hell then it already was. She was a selfish princess who got everything she ever wanted, before she was sent to an orphanage, and Billy was the typical ignorant muggle, whose future in alcohol abuse was inevitable and solved everything with violence. The two of them were born into this world to fight against people like him and Frankie. Freaks of nature…

"That's right. I had almost forgotten." Amy answered with a laugh, as she hit herself on the head her palm, stupidly. Tom just stared at her. She was acting oddly and he just couldn't put his finger on to the reason why. Tom didn't really believe in the fact that people could change. There was only one case he accepted, but she didn't truly change who she was, she had been that way all along. She just changed who her friends were.

"Tom with magical powers," Marjorie started then paused, looking as though she was going to tell Amy he actually had magical powers, "what a silly notion."

"So, how did the two of you meet?" Tom questioned. He never would've guessed the two of them meeting would ever happen, or even the fact he was even seeing them here at all. He was sure he had left them both in his past.

"My new family recently moved to this town and Marjorie works at the pub in town." she answered, cheerfully. Tom could barely imagine her with a family. She was the princess of the orphans. Tom remembered the day she left. He and Frankie were only days away from departure to their fourth year of school and the couple had actually been talking to Frankie, until Tom pulled her away. That of course was when Amy stepped in. In the orphanage, if you wanted to be adopted, then you had to be fast. Tom didn't really mind, she finally wouldn't be getting in his way.

"What about Mrs. Alwena?" Tom asked Marjorie. Mrs. Nadja Alwena ran an inn in Little Hangleton and had been friends with both him and Marjorie's mothers in their youth. Tom had treated her nicely since finding out this information. She actually had gotten to talk to his mother and knew who she was, unlike him.

"She's just loaning me to her cousin for the summer. He can't afford to pay more workers, so she thought she'd help him out. It's the perfect summer getaway for me," she answered, cheerfully. "What are you doing here, Tom?"

"Huh?" Tom didn't think about having a cover, he obviously wasn't expecting to run into anyone he knew.

"What are you doing here? And where's Frankie? Isn't she with you?" Amy questioned for Marjorie, as she checked behind him to see if he was hiding there. She always had been there when she checked before, if not right beside him. Kids from the orphanage thought of them as partners in crime, always together.

"Speak of the devil." Marjorie muttered. A black dot appeared to be flying straight for them and Tom knew it to. Her owl was finally here to tell him about her, about her well-being, about her life without him. The dumb bird continued to amaze by showing up wherever Tom was, no matter how far. He was either secretly rather intelligent, or just had incredible dumb luck. Normally, Twilit would flutter around Tom in excitement, however he merely landed on a low branch and dropped the letter into Tom's hands,

" _Dear Tom,_

_How are you doing so far being out of school? I'm doing fine here at the castle, so there's no need to be worrying about me. I get to have tea with Ogg and Hagrid every day and learn things from them. Recently, I've been learning all about phoenixes from Ogg. Dumbledore has been listening in, or at least I think he's been listening in, because the next day he came to breakfast with an actual phoenix. Luckily everyone else is away on a vacation, it caused quite commotion even with just Ogg, Hagrid and I. They're really such fascinating creatures, Tom. I wish you could be here to meet him. His name is Fawkes. He's gigantic, for a bird, and his feathers are such a pretty red color. Isn't your wand core made out of a phoenix feather? Mr. Ollivander used to tell me about it all the time when we used to go to Diagon Alley. He always wanted me to have the brother to your wand. However, as he often says, ‘the wand chooses the wizard’._

_Anyway, I hope Twilit can find you with all the travelling you're doing. He's not good at long distance, so try not to go too hard on him. Also, you have to be back here by August, so no wandering off too far. Please take care of yourself and write back when you can._

_-Frankie”_

Everyone seemed to be tuning in, trying to read Tom’s mind, to try and hear the latest news from Frankie Dickson. Even Twilit looked like he was trying to read the letter for himself, but leaned over a little too far and fell out of the tree.

"My turn!" Marjorie yelled, suddenly swiping the letter out of his hand. Tom would've been able to easily block her if he hadn't been so busy catching Twilit from falling out of the tree at that very moment.

"Marjorie, hand it over. Now..." Tom commanded, setting Twilit on the ground next to him and holding out his hand. But unlike the fools at school he could manipulate to his will, he had no power over her. It was one of her Frankie-like aspects that Marjorie had about her. Although, he could weasel information out of them, he could not completely control their will or actions.

"Why? You never let me read them." she protested, like it was something she should have had the right to do.

"Cause they belong to me!" Tom argued back as he tried to rip the letter from her hand.

"But I want to know more about her and the world she lives in. What’s it like to be Frankie Dickson? I bet it’s grand.” It was only natural Marjorie would want to hear about things from the wizard world. She was not raised there or schooled there, even though she was a wizard. However, it was obviously not her curiosity to know what she was missing in the wizarding world that was enticing her to read the letter, “Oh, look at her neat handwriting."

"Give it back already!" Tom shouted, but it was completely ineffective. Marjorie had started reading. There was only one thing he could do to get it back, without using magic. Normally, he loathed asking for help, but he had an idea, "Amy, do something!"

Amy suddenly sprang into action, moving fast, maneuvering like a graceful ballerina, and in a split second she was the one who was holding the letter. "How'd you do that?" Marjorie asked in awe, noticing the letter was no longer on her skinny little hands.

"Years of practice. Right, Tom?" Amy giggled, handing the letter back to Tom. Thankfully, she didn't even give it another glance. The letter was practically oozing magic.

"One of the tricks she learned back at the orphanage. I knew she could still do it." Tom stated, answering Marjorie's question.

"It still comes in handy, oddly enough. My brothers take stuff from me all the time."

"Brothers?" Tom questioned, looking rather confused. He could not picture the princess of the orphans having brothers.

"Yes, I have three of them." she answered, as if it were quite obvious. But Tom didn't know about her new family. As soon as she left he didn't care about her anymore. "Oh, I'm sorry for talking so much about my family. You and Frankie never got to have one."

"We didn't really want a new family anyway. She was my family and I was hers.” Tom answered, with almost a hint of a smile. He couldn't help but smiling thinking about their friends, the castle, and most importantly Frankie herself. However the thought dampened as he realized that he was slowly losing all of that.

"I'm glad to hear that." Amy smiled. But that soon turned into a playful smirk and she started pulling Tom's arm forward. "Enough reminiscing. Let's go!"

"Go where?" Tom asked. Where could they possibly go in such a dead town?

"The pub, of course. We're not children anymore, Tom," Amy laughed, as if Tom's question had been a rather stupid one. "We're adults now."

Tom still felt like a child though, sitting alone in the corner while everyone was drunkenly laughing and having fun. It was better than looking like a drunken idiot. Frankie would've done the same if Ogg and Hagrid took her to the Three Broomsticks. She would've sat down in the corner, trying to stay out of the way, she wouldn't actually drink anything. Just a drop of Firewhiskey would burn her throat beyond repair and make her never want to drink again. Marjorie said he could stay here so he ditched his corner spot and headed to his new room. It was like any other room he had stayed in. A bed, a chair, a dresser. It was all the same, even the small twittering owl. Twilit was lying on Tom's pillow, looking quite like a stuffed animal, hopefully sleeping and not dead. Thankfully, he sprung up when Tom sat on his bed.

"Dumb bird…" he muttered, as Twilit nibbled affectionately on his fingers. Tom headed over to the small desk to start his reply to her letter. He wrote a short and simple reply explaining how he was and how he had met a rather unexpected guests in this new town he was in, then signed it and sealed it inside an envelope, while Twilit started flying laps around the room.

"Please take this to her." Tom added, once he finally caught the owl. He gave it to him and Twilit departed out the window. Tom quietly watched his only connection to her fly out of sight, praying the bird wouldn’t get lost.

With nothing better to do Tom traveled downstairs once more. If he was going to just sit there, he might as well just do it down there and get some quality entertainment. His eyes wandered to two men sitting at the bar with giant bottle of gin between them and decided to see how much they could entertain him. Tom had just sat down too hear, "Best not go wandering in the forest or they'll get ya’."

"That's just an old wives tail." the other man grunted, taking a final glug of gin and started staggering for the door. The first man tried to stop him, but got up two fast for his drunken body to process and forced him to sit right straight back down.

"I'm telling you, it's the truth." he protested, but the other man was already heading for the door once more.

"What's the truth?" Tom asked, butting right into their conversation. They both looked at him squarely, as if it was something everyone was supposed to know.

"Hundreds of years ago a young couple of lovers were murdered there in those woods. Both were found stabbed to death deep into forest." the first man answered. “The whole place is cursed.”

"Why were they killed though?" Tom asked, growing more and more curious. It sounded vaguely like _that_ story, the very reason he was here. Obviously the muggles wouldn’t know the real story of magic and betrayal. It had probably been dramatized a little, but what else were muggles supposed to think upon finding two young people stabbed to death deep within the forest.

"Some say the town crazy was in love with the girl and stabbed her, before killing himself, others believe they both stabbed each other," the man answered, trying to sound cryptic, but was a little too drunk for that. "But it was her father that murdered them. He didn't approve of them. So, she took the family jewels and a satchel filled with gold and they ran for it."

"How terrifying…Would you excuse me?" Tom muttered, as he suddenly made a break for the stairs. Everyone was looking at his sudden exit of the scene, but he didn't care. He had finally gotten it, the last piece of information he needed, and that was all that mattered.

"Your boyfriends' kind of weird, Marjorie…”

"Dan! He's not my—"

Tom wasn't even worried about correcting the man at this moment anyway. He didn't even stop to listen to Marjorie's denial of the claim. All he cared about was studying this new information. The story didn't quite match Helena's, but it was the closest thing he had gotten thus far. The only problem was searching the trees. His theory of Rowena enchanting the diadem to be fetched only by muggle tactics was still very much intact and this forest was a lot bigger than all the others he had searched. It'd take _years_ to find it. However, like always, by the next morning, Tom awoke with a newly formulated plan.

"What are you insane?"

He had foolishly told Amy his plan, after she tried dragging him off to meet her ‘parents’. Although, he of course lied and told her the watered down love story rather than the one of enchanted tiaras and magical betrayal. Tom naturally didn’t want Amy Benson believing in magic again. It would reform her back to that spoiled selfish brat he knew not-so long ago.

"You kept asking me what I had to do here and this is the reason I’m here." Tom reasoned, simply. Amy just kept glaring, as if she hadn’t been pestering him the day before about why he was here.

"It's just a stupid story, Tom."

"That story was a bunch of hogwash, I know. However, the real story is so much more."

She actually stopped walking, but it wasn’t because of interest in what he said. Marjorie was headed towards them in the distance. Tom stopped as well, allowing her to catch up. He really didn’t need either of them, but if the only way to find the tiara was through annoying muggle methods he might as well use them to get most of the work done for him.

"And, what story is that?" she asked, yet was still somehow managing to look like she wasn't acknowledging his existence. Another one of her talents.

"It was true about the man loving the poor, foolish girl, but she could not return his love. She stole her mother's prized tiara and ran far, far away. Her mother sent the man after her to convince the girl to come back. He ended up confessing his love to her and her rejecting his feelings. Irrationally upset at her, he stabbed her through the heart," Tom explained, making sure to cover up the magical parts pretty well. "Of course, after she hid the priceless heirloom in a hollowed out tree."

"Who told you that story?" she snorted, in disbelief. Tom grew silent. He couldn't exactly tell her a ghost at Hogwarts told him.

"I'll tell you, _after_ we check the forest." he stated, just as Marjorie strolled up next to them. She looked at them both, really confused, not knowing the situation she was walking into. However, they were too busy arguing to acknowledge her presence.

"What do you mean after _we_ check the forest? I'm not going in there." Amy huffed, starting to walk faster than she had been before in the opposite direction. Tom was already being forced to use his last resort.

"Is the princess afraid? It's going to be nothing compared to _the cave_ , Amy. You do remember it, don't you?" He had just threatened her, yet had sounded as sweet as sugar. He didn't need to sound scary, he had done it. The one thing he did that had terrified her beyond repair. Just hearing the word gave her mad shivers and caused her to lose her smug royal attitude in an instant.

"I'm—not afraid…" she muttered, not sounding at all convincing. He smiled smugly at her meek expression. It felt rather good to see it plastered on her face.

"Perfect. Let's go then." Tom exclaimed, grabbing Marjorie along by the wrist, even though she still had absolutely no idea what was going on. Tom had pushed so over the edge Amy was leading the way into the deep dark forest, with him and Marjorie following behind her. Once inside the forest they could spread out, so they could cover more trees in a shorter amount of time.

"Find anything yet?" Amy asked Tom, as she circled a tree for an opening. No luck on her end apparently.

"Not since you asked me ten seconds ago. Go bother Marjorie for a while."

"I thought she was over there with you."

"No." Tom answered, getting a bit mentally panicked to the fact her bright red locks seemed to be nowhere in sight. She was the daughter of one of his mother's only friends. While he didn't care for in the way he does Frankie, he could not pretend she meant absolutely nothing to him.

"Did you lose her?" she yelled at him. He looked affronted by her accusation.

"I didn't lose her!" Tom yelled back, yet he did kind of lose her. He had held on her wrist for the longest time, when exactly did he let go?

"Then, where is she?" Amy asked, angrily.

"If I knew that she wouldn't be lost now, would she?" he retorted. Tom took a couple deep breaths and was calm once more. He put his hands on Amy's shoulders. "Would you calm down? We'll find her. _I'll_ find her."

He started running, calling out her name, faster, and faster, until…

KLUNK!

Tom had crashed head first, into a rather large tree. Now, Frankie would've been worried and tried to help him, however, Amy just busted out laughing.

"I thought you were only that rash with Frankie. Wasn’t running into trees always one of you two’s thing?" Amy added, in between giggles.

"No. It was not our—"But then he shut himself up immediately. The sound the tree had made when he his head against it. Hollow. Not his head, but the tree. He knocked a few times just to be sure. It was hollow alright. "This is it! This surely must be it."

"It's hollow, but shouldn't there be an opening or something?" she asked, examining the tree closely. There wasn't even a crack or crevice. "How could she put it in without a hole?"

Tom knew how. "Close your eyes a second." he commanded. She stared at him like he was crazy. To close her eyes in a place like this, surely she'd never open them again.

"Why? What are you—?”

"Fine." Amy sighed, closing her eyes. Tom pulled his wand out and started to try different spells to get it, but no matter what he tried it had no effect whatsoever.

"I can't get it. You can try, but I don’t think—"

 Suddenly, Amy's were glowing a memorizing, ominous blue and she was reaching her arms straight into the tree.

"Amy, Amy!"

She would not answer him, though. Her face clenched with pain as her arms reached what seemed like the center. And once she pulled them out a small blue stone tiara was resting in her palms.

"How did you—"He was, quite honestly, stunned. Amy, a muggle, had just pulled the Lost Diadem of Ravenclaw out of the tree, when he couldn't with magic. It amazed him, yet infuriated him.

"Don't ask me! You were one the watching me. What did I do?" she asked frantically, thoroughly confused about what had just happened. To her one moment her and Tom were arguing as usual and the next she was holding the diadem in her hands.

"I'm not actually sure…"

"You used your powers to make me get it, didn't you?" Amy muttered, suddenly. It was the only sense she could make. He had told her to close her eyes and trust him. The truth was she could only do one of those things.

"I did no such thing!" Tom protested, angrily, at her allegation.

"Don't lie. I always had the smallest feeling it was all really true. You really can curse and, not only that, you've gotten better at it," she yelled, deranged and crazed, her younger self suddenly returning. Perhaps, she hadn't even ever left. "You and Frankie have always been freaks!"

"Maybe we are freaks, but so is Marjorie. She's a freak, I'm a freak, and over a quarter of all of Great Britain's population is made up of us freaks. Even this beautiful tiara was made by a freak and has freakish qualities," Tom shouted back in her face, getting angrier and angrier. "And it's honestly better than being an ungrateful, filthy muggle."

"What did you call me?" she snapped, in an affronted tone. Tom sighed, sick of always seeming to have to explain their culture to muggles. It was like talking to his father all over again.

"A muggle, a filthy, no good, non-magical being!" he spat at her, drawing his wand and jabbing it into her chest. "Who don't deserve to be on this planet anymore!"

"I don't—"

"You deserve die, you muggle princess," Tom shouted, now looking quite like the deranged, psychotic one. But in his mind, his actions were very clear. "And it seems I'm going to get the honor of doing it."

"Tom…"

For a second she had given that tone of caring his father had given when he said his mother's name. But like him surely she must've just been doing it to save her own life. Surely, they both did not truly care for them.

" _AVADA KEDAVERA_!"

With a scream that pierced the trees, the Princess of Wool's Orphanage fell to the ground. Finally, dead at last. It was dead silence as Tom stared down at her lifeless body. Sadly, her look was more of a painful sorrowful then one of utter horror. Perhaps, he should've played with her just a little bit longer. Suddenly, Marjorie stumbled out from behind the tree, shaking vigorously.

"Why, Tom...Why did you—"

"—kill her? I assure you, dear Marjorie, my actions are more business than satisfactory. It was nothing like when my uncle killed your parents. I'm not a savage." he answered, pretending to be causally picking dirt from his nails. He knew looking like he didn't care would anger her the most. The snake's next prey had come at last. Now, the real fun begins.

"Your uncle…"

"Yes, Morfin Gaunt is my uncle. However, I believe my wickedness actually stems from my wretched father. I lied when I said both my parents were dead. He was the terrifyingly, horrendous, Tom Riddle, from the hill,” Tom explained. "Never thought he'd give me something other than his looks…"

He let out a short crude laugh at his own joke, however, Marjorie dropped to her knees, shaking.

"He's _your_ uncle?" she simply repeated. He held a horrified expression and it _wasn't_ from the sight of Amy's body anymore. The boy she loved was related to the man who killed her parents. They had died fighting for his mother.

"Oh yes, but don't worry he's in Azkaban rotting for his actions. As for father and my grandparents, they are all quite literally rotting. I killed them too, you see," he answered, as if killing was a perfectly normal and sane thing to do. "That's the whole reason I came to Little Hangleton, that's the whole reason I met you…"

"You're lying. Tell me it isn't true…" Marjorie pleaded. Tom could see the desperateness in her eyes, the desperation for all of this to just be a lie. However, he could not lie to her any longer.

"You see the body here before your very eyes and I'm the only one here. Why won't you blame me for something I've clearly done?" he questioned her, harshly. She remained in dead silence. She could not answer that. "Perhaps you still harbor feelings for me."

"I feel only for the Tom I knew, not _you_." she scowled, try to suppress her anger. The person who meant something to you taken away just like that, yet the shell of their body still remains. People don't enjoy getting lied to, especially when they love that which is a lie.

"The Tom you knew is a character I created to squeeze important information out of foolish girls such as yourself. _Your_ Tom doesn't really exist." he laughed, manically. He knew that every single chuckle he emitted was like tiny daggers in her heart, stabbing her, over, and over...

"I know he's in there somewhere…" she muttered softly, yet somewhere in the back of her mind she knew he was right. Her Tom didn't exist. "Surely, you must not act this way with Frankie. Surely, you wouldn't want her seeing something so pitiful and ugly."

He sneered at her just proving how hideous his evil side was.

"I do not show her what I know would upset her, yet I do not hide who I really am," he answered, simply. "And even if I did, she wouldn't care. She's not like you or Amy, she doesn't recoil when she finds something she doesn't like in a person."

"Are you going to kill me now?" she asked, yet she didn't sound like he wanted her too. He was going to kill her and yet she held a strong defiant voice. Another one of her Frankie-like qualities that was so painfully irritating.

"No, I'm not going to kill you quite yet, my dear. I fear it's just not the right moment." Tom smiled. He could've killed her right at this moment very easily, but where was the fun in that?

"Aren't you afraid I'll tell everyone? You'll go to Azkaban and _rot_ , just like your monstrous uncle." Marjorie added, trying to sound threatening. However, to rat out a boy she still had feelings for was just something she couldn't do. And Tom knew it.

"You can tell all you like; no one shall believe you anyway. Everyone will just think you've gone absolutely insane…" he smiled wickedly, the thought of him driving the girl to utter insanity made him quite happy. It was time to leave, but Tom just wasn't quite done terrifying her yet. So, he turned and walked closer and closer to her. Remarkably she stood her ground, even though she stood no chance against him if he was to attack her. He stared straight into her pale blue eyes and spoke to her in the most horrifyingly chilly voice he could muster.

"I can't wait to see you again, my dear Marjorie. Hope you and Amy have fun here…"

With that last sentiment, she fell to the ground too. Tom smiled, as he picked up the diadem and started to walk back towards town, whistling a happy carefree tune. Vacation was nice, but he was ready to go home now.


	56. Getting Ready For the Wedding

Frankie awoke suddenly in a room that was still quite unrecognizable to her. Even though she had been living in the castle for almost the entire summer, she still just couldn't get used to the feeling of waking up in a different room that wasn't her dorm room or her room at the orphanage. In the summer, she had gotten too used to waking up with Tom sitting beside her, reading a book and waiting for her to get up. She would always come into his room when night terrors came. Frankie hardly ever got nightmares during the school because she always surrounded by friends and she was at home. However, now she lay in a big empty room, all alone. Now when she had nightmares, she had no choice but to allow them to consume her, forced to power through them by herself. Although, she was still at Hogwarts, it didn’t feel much like home at the moment.

Her room was in a tower just like the Gryffindor dorm. Although it was twice as large as her one in the orphanage it was probably a bit smaller than the dorms. It was hidden in the castle, just like almost everything, in a deserted hallway forbidden to go down if you were a student. She remembered Roger Day would always tell her it was full of monsters, as if she were only five years old. He had always treated her like that. Yet it did strangely always did make her unconsciously avoid this hallway.

She got up and brushed her hair at the small vanity desk in the corner. It didn't take as long as usual since it only reached her shoulders now. She had it cut just yesterday. Before, whenever she brushed her hair, the brush would disappear for an hour or two and fall out randomly during her day. Needless to say, it was getting a bit out of hand and a becoming a hassle to upkeep. She quickly got dressed, rushed down the hall, and out the castle down to Ogg’s cabin. She had gotten up later than normal without her owl to peck on her forehead, or twitter and hoot his heart out, till she awoke. Ogg, Hagrid and Dumbledore were probably already waiting for her. The four had gotten accustomed, being the only patrons in the vicinity, to eating their meals together. Breakfasts were generally at Ogg's cabin and lunch and supper were in the Great Hall, like usual.

"Good morning, Frankie." Dumbledore greeted, as she huffed out of breath in the doorway of Ogg's cabin. They were all crowded around table in the center of room, already digging into breakfast.

"I'm so sorry I'm late. I forgot Twilit is with Tom right now and he's usually in charge of waking me up." Frankie apologized, sitting down in her usual seat between Hagrid and Dumbledore.

"If you'd like you can borrow Fawkes for a while." Dumbledore added, indicating to Fawkes on his shoulder beside her, as if she couldn't see the giant peacock-sized bird already. Fawkes the phoenix had recently become a breakfast guest as well. Often he would rest on Dumbledore’s shoulder and nibble off the various creatures Ogg had hanging from the ceiling, while the others ate as well.

"Thanks for the offer, but it's almost a burning day. I would probably have a panic attack if I woke up to a bunch of flames." Frankie laughed, as she petted Fawkes's fiery feathered head. "I don't think he'd like to spend any time away from his master, anyway. Ever since you got him, Fawkes sticks to you like glue."

"I have grown very fond of him as well." he smiled up at Fawkes. The phoenix looked a little puzzled for a moment, but surely understood it was an endearing expression. Fawkes jumped down onto Dumbledore's lap, so that he could pet him as well and express more of his affection. It had only been about a month or so since Dumbledore showed up with him out of the blue, but since then they had become inseparable.

"So, what are we doing today?" Frankie asked, as she started to butter some toast and dig in to breakfast as well.

"We have a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher starting this term and he's coming today to get the gist of the place and all that. He’ll probably be staying the rest of the summer, as well." Dumbledore answered.

"What? Professor Merrythought is finally retiring. How terrible. She was always one of my favorite teachers, well besides you and Slughorn, and—"

"You like all of the teachers, Frankie." Ogg laughed, before she could name off every single teacher she used to have.

"Well, they're all fantastic teachers. They’ve taught me everything I know." she stated, although she probably taught them a thing or two at her time in school. “I wonder what this new teacher will be like…"

"If you'd like to know, I suppose you can show him around the castle. Would that be alright?" Dumbledore inquired. Her face lit up immediately.

"Yes, that would be fine." Frankie replied, trying to contain her excitement and sound at least a little bit professional. She was just so ecstatic about the opportunity to show the new teacher every little thing about the school and have another person staying with them till school started.

"Excellent. He'll be waiting at the platform at noon." Dumbledore added, as Fawkes hopped back up on his shoulder and he headed for the door. Frankie devoured her toast, in record time, and bolted up for the door a few minutes later. There was still so much she had to do before the new teacher arrived.

About two hours later, Frankie stood alone on the platform, staring down blankly at the pavement as she waited for the train to arrive. Last time she stood in this spot she was crying and, before she knew it, she was thinking about Tom yet again. She kept telling herself it wasn't forever and when she saw him again everything would be like it was before, yet it felt like they were out of sync since graduating. They talked like usual in their letters, but everything still felt rather broken and wrong to her for some reason. She was supposed to be with him. How long could they just keep sending letters? Surely, not too long. And what was going to happen once the wedding was over?

The screech of the scarlet red steam engine snapped her out of her thoughts and back into reality. She stood up straighter as the front of the train stopped in front of her. Unfortunately, one of the middle doors to the train opened and she had to run towards it to greet whoever was coming out. That was usually the car where Gryffindor house sat. Why wouldn't he just sit in the front of the train? Why would he sit towards the middle? However, it all made sense when the steam cleared to reveal…

Roger Day.

Frankie had been coincidentally thinking of him just a few hours prior and there he was. In the flesh was her first Prefect and the original king of pranks and devious behavior. Rodger Day had stepped of the train in a freshly tailored suit, yet still not looking too professional. He should've been around twenty-four now. His blonde-brown hair was still shaggy and unruly and had that sporty vibe. His eyes widened when he spotted her and he felt the need to rub them out, as if the steam was messing with them.

"Squirt! Is that you?" he exclaimed, as he stared at her in bewilderment, with his different colored eyes. The grassy green eye, along with the sky blue one, were focused on her, yet Frankie remained completely silent and still. However, in a split second, he already knew the answer to his own question and was giving her a long time needed noogie. So much for brushing her hair this morning.

"Don't call me that, Day. I'm not little anymore." Frankie scowled, as she tried to break loose from his head lock. He released her after a few seconds and her hands fell instantly to her hair, to analyze and fix the damage.

"Clearly, look at you all grown up. I bet all the Slytherins are still jealous not to have a cutie like you in their house," he grinned, as he held her hand made her twirl around. "Wait a second, you were five years below me. Weren’t you supposed to have graduated back in June?"

"Dumbledore said that I could stay." she answered, simply. It's not like she was going to tell Rodger Day she didn't have a real job when he had just gotten the best teaching job besides Transfiguration. He was supposed to be the failure, the idiot who wasn’t going to make it, not her.

"Well, lucky me. Looks like it's you and me again, Squirt." Roger remarked, as he rested his arm her shoulder. He acted as if they were partners in crime long ago.

A loud coo of an owl not so far away brought Frankie out of her very own deadly glare, reserved especially for Rodger Day, to look around for the source. A black dot, her black dot, was flying towards her to deliver a very important letter. Twilit dropped it into her hands and perched on her shoulder to rest. She ripped it open eagerly,

" _Dear Frankie,_

_I hope you're doing well since we last spoke. Don't push yourself to hard with your advanced studies with Dumbledore. I'm doing fine too. There isn't really much to say, other than that I'm almost back in Britain and I should be seeing you rather soon._

_-Tom"_

"Who's that from?" he asked her. Yet he was already looking over the shoulder he was resting his arm on to get the answer himself. He had always seemed tall when she was a first year, but only now did she notice he was still about a good foot taller than her, despite growing older.

"Nobody." Frankie scowled back, as she folded it and stuck her arm out of his reach. Or at least she thought it was out of his reach. Turns out his arms grew longer too since he was eighteen. "Hey! Give it back."

"Tom, as in Tom Riddle, the Slytherin. You’re still talking to him? I always thought there was something between you two. You treated him far too nicely for a Slytherin." Rodger stated, as he stared at Tom's neat crisp signature at the bottom of the parchment. He apparently didn't need her to tell him of their relationship. He could see it in the writing.

"I've known Tom way before he was ever a Slytherin." Frankie snapped, angrily, crossing her arms and giving up her attempts to retrieve it.

"Just stating some third party observations." he answered calmly, returning the letter to her, seemingly satisfied with the amount of struggle she had endured. "So, where is he exactly? Where'd he run off to?"

"He went traveling, to Albania, I think. It doesn't matter anymore. He’ll be back by tomorrow." she replied, coldly.

"Why is that? Usually people travel for at least a year after school." Rodger asked. It was true. When a student decided to travel around the wizarding world after graduating they do it for at least three years. Tom was cutting his trip abnormally short.

"Our friends are getting married." Frankie answered, simply.

"He has friends other than you?" he asked, with mischievous laugh. To the world who didn't know him he looked like a secluded loner, to the people who thought they knew him he was brilliant and popular, only a select few could say they knew the real Tom. And even they didn't really know him. No one did.

"Of course he does!” she yelled back. “Why would you say that?"

"Always seemed like the loner type." he stated, calmly, despite her screaming at him.

"I don't think he'd be the ‘Best Man’ at a wedding, if he wasn't someone's friend." Frankie shot back, angrily.

"Not saying he doesn’t have _any_ friends, some Slytherins and you. I'm just saying I've always gotten a bad feeling about that kid, like he was hiding something from everyone." Rodger answered. Frankie didn’t want to hear it. There was nothing that Tom had not told her. She was the closest person to knowing the real Tom, even he would claim so. However, there were in fact some things even she could not comprehend about him. "Sometimes, when I'd spot him with the other Slytherins, I could swear his eyes flashed a burning red as he stared back."

Frankie had seen them too. Those wicked red eyes staring straight at her. She didn't know why or when, but she remembered seeing them. They were in his sockets. They were trying to kill her with their evil venomous glare. She pushed the mental vision back. They made her head ache and she was in no mood to remember something she could’ve possibly been repressing.

"I've heard enough!" she yelled. Frankie started to storm back, but something caught her hand. She struggled to break free, but Rodger held his grip.

"I'm sorry, Squirt. Me and my big mouth don't know a thing about him. Please don't be mad." he stammered, frantically trying to fix his mistake. He was trying to sound like he didn't mean it whatsoever, but she knew he did. Everyone who ever told her bad things about Tom, in some feeble attempt to try and get her away from him, always meant it.

"I'm not mad, Day. I just need a little time on my own." Frankie smiled and with one final tug of her arm he let go. She let Twilit perch on her newly freed arm, before she started walking once again. "Come on, Twilit. Let's go…"

Once back in her empty room she put Twilit in his cage and collapsed on her bed. It was finally a big enough size for her to crawl inside the covers and just hide from the world. She had never had that luxury. Instead, she always did have someone one who she could poor her heart out to right in the next orphanage room. In her mind, they could not even be compared. The cold sheets and fluffy pillows could not smother her enough and tell her what she should do to fix the problem. They just suffocated her in physical warmth and made her not want to be with them after a while. However, for the moment, they'd have to do.

"Is it alright if I come in?" a voice called, from the other side of the door. It was Rodger Day again.

"Only if it's important..."Frankie answered, but did not get up. She buried herself deeper into the mountain of pillows and blankets. If he was coming in, she didn't want to see him whatsoever.

"I suppose it's not very important," he admitted, truthfully, remaining on the outside of the door. "I just wanted to tell you we’ll all be leaving for the wedding tomorrow at nine."

"You too?" she mumbled, sounding surprised yet disappointed. Frankie didn’t remember him receiving an invitation, but then again neither did Ogg, Hagrid or Dumbledore and they were still coming. He didn't even have to say the answer. She knew it already.

"Is that a problem?" Rodger asked. He probably thought she didn't want him to go, especially after what he had said.

"No, not really." Frankie replied back, a small happiness filling her back up a bit. Both Ellyn and Peter were born in the birthplace of Salazar Slytherin, as she was born in Godric's Hollow. Having another person there who didn’t already hate her wouldn't be the worst thing. She couldn't even imagine how Ellyn's parents would react being told their daughter's Maid of Honor was a Gryffindor. They had most likely gone to school with her parents too, who were also Gryffindors. Her parent’s became Aurors who put down their friends and the people they idolized. "If Ellyn is ok with it, that is…"

"Dumbledore said she would be. She's that kind of person." he laughed. She could feel his warm honest smile even through the mounds of cushions. Frankie smiled herself, as she got up from her pillow fort. Slowly, she started to walk to the door before finally crouching by it.

"Do you really want to go to a Slytherin wedding? All of their relatives are pureblooded Slytherins. The five of us will be the only Gryffindors in the vicinity." she asked, as she sat on the floor with her back to the door. It didn't really seem like Rodger Day to attend the wedding of Slytherins he didn't even know. Out of all the people against them, he had to be the most intense about it.

"I'll need to get over my prejudice sooner or later, especially if I'm going to be a teacher. It's honestly not doing much good for me. You're going to prove me wrong, right? Prove to me that they’re not all evil scumbags?" Rodger admitted. Frankie shot up immediately and ripped open the door. She needed to see his face to see if he was lying. "You'll introduce me to him properly, won’t you? I only talked to him once or twice when he was with you.”

"Really?” Frankie asked, obviously amazed. Less than an hour ago he was basically calling Tom an evil git.

"If he's with Squirt, I've got some major interrogating to do." he claimed, yet punched his hand as if he was going to crack Tom's skull.

"What? Why?" she questioned, in a panic, at his gesture. Thinking about Rodger 'interrogating' Tom gave her kind of a bad feeling and suddenly she felt like diving back into the pillow fort. Although she’d known Tom for many years, Rodger Day would find some way to embarrass her.

"Just want to make sure he's treating you right. Your too special to give away to just anyone." Rodger answered, with a sincere smile.

"You act like you're my father." Frankie sighed, going off the stereotypical image of a father. She had father figures, like Ogg, Dumbledore and Slughorn, but it was not like she actually knew how her real father would have acted. She could barely remember his features in her mind.

"Urgh, not quite, Squirt. I'm not that old…" he laughed, a bit uncomfortably. The father reference to a twenty-four year old man was bound to freak him a bit, especially coming from an eighteen year old girl. "That's more of Dumbledore's job, anyway. How about older brother?"

"I'm supposed to have an older sister, not brother." she answered, quite bluntly. Another person she spoke like she knew, but didn't. The only thing connecting them was a few measly pieces of paper and the word of a man with her eye.

"I have an older sister and trust me you don't want one. Older brothers might be a little protective, but all sisters do is forever moan about how you get spoiled rotten for being the youngest." he sighed, looking dead exhausted just thinking about her. Frankie thought about the proposal. She really didn’t need any more adoptive fathers and protective figures in her life, but he really had always acted like an older brother to her. Not one that coddled her either, one that encouraged her to break the rules and looked after her in a way she could still be independent. She had always thought it was him just doing his duties as a not-very-responsible Prefect, but the man standing in front of her looked as though he truly cared for her like a sister.

"I suppose I'll be happy with having an older brother then."

The next day they all boarded the train to take off to the wedding. Hagrid still wasn't too keen on Apparition. They left the platform at half past ten and spread out throughout the train. Hagrid, Ogg, and Roger had gone off reminiscing about their old Gryffindor school days, while Dumbledore and Fawkes disappeared the second they got on. Frankie sat alone in a compartment staring out the window and occasionally at the seat in front of her. He would usually sit there, if her friends didn't kidnap her, forever reading the book which apparently held nothing of interest. Thinking about Tom made her realize she would be seeing him again in a little more than two hours. That made her rather nervous.

"There's nothing to be nervous about, Frankie. No matter how much the sky changes, the sky is still the sky."

Frankie snapped from her gaze to find Dumbledore and Fawkes had reappeared in the doorway of her compartment. He took up the seat across from her, setting Fawkes in the seat beside him, giving the impression he was intent on actually staying.

"How can you always tell how I'm feeling, sir?”

"I just do." he answered, simply, not helping her question in the slightest.

"You and Tom seem to be the only ones who can. I can hide my emotions with anyone else." Frankie sighed.

"You can always tell how we’re feeling as well." Dumbledore pointed out.

"That's true. Can you tell how Tom's feeling too?" she asked, curiously. Frankie of course could always see through too Tom's true feelings, but what about Dumbledore? She had always thought the two as really close, but perhaps that was only because she was extremely close to Dumbledore. Thinking on it now, Tom didn’t seem too fond of Dumbledore most of the time.

"He may not like it, but I know lots of things about him. More than just his feelings." he answered, rather mysteriously.

"What kind of things about him, sir?" Frankie asked, not knowing whatsoever to what he was referring to. Could he possibly know something that she didn't?

"He wouldn't want me saying," Dumbledore answered, vaguely. "Besides, I think the day will come when he shows you—”

"It's time to go! Come on, Squirt!" Rodger yelled, suddenly appearing in the compartment door as well. The train had stopped, without their knowledge, and it was time to get off.

They stepped onto the stone platform and the train took off into the distance once more, but it was truly like they were stepping into a whole different world. The streets were pristine and had rows and rows of high class manors, as far as the eye could see. Everything from seemed to more beautiful here, from the street lamps to the people, everything shined with a powerful glittering light.

It was rather different than Godric's Hollow. For one, Frankie could tell by just looking around that there were absolutely no muggles. Magic was blatantly being used in the stores around them. There were racing brooms in stores with kids testing them out front, a magical candy store with Chocolate Frogs hopping around the inside, and even a hair salon with people walking out with crazy and impossible hairstyles. The town seemed to be decked out with white and emerald ribbons and flowers. All the buildings and manors they passed seemed to have some sort decoration on it. It must have been for the wedding.

"Does the whole town really celebrate weddings? This is a pretty big town. They can't really know everyone, can they?" Frankie asked, as she tried to ignore the stares of the passing people. They all stuck out like sore thumbs, even in such a big town. They were obviously not like them.

"The Pettigrew's and Vogel's are two very important Slytherin families, next to the Malfoy's and the Black's." Dumbledore explained. "Even if they hadn't fallen in love, their marriage would've probably been arranged."

"An arranged marriage…"She had rarely heard the words together, it was not so common a thing as it had been in the past, but even so she knew she had an idea of the meaning. It was a cruel sort of thing. "So, even if they each loved someone else, they'd be forced to marry each other."

"It's not as bad as it sounds, Squirt," Rodger sighed, sensing her rising anger. "I've been engaged since I was born.”

"To whom?" she asked, quizzically, yet also shocked. Although, that kind of thing does not normally come up in conversation, he had never once mentioned it before.

"Her name is Éclair Garnier. She lives in France and, unlike these Slytherins, she is actually descended from royalty." he answered, confidently, despite there being Slytherins all around him. Although, he spoke of her quite highly Rodger was still slightly frowning in discomfort.

"So, why aren't you with her? Shouldn't you two be married by now?" Frankie questioned. Rodger was twenty-four now. Certainly, if two eighteen year olds were getting married, he should’ve been married by now.

"I don't like the idea of letting my parents decide who I fall in love with, so I ran away," Rodger remarked, heaving a big sigh. She looked down on him with a small look of disapproval. Gryffindors didn't run from things like that. He couldn't just jerk his responsibilities, no matter what they were. "Don't give me that look, Squirt! If your parents were alive, would you like them telling you that you aren't allowed to marry Riddle and have to marry someone you've never even met?"

"I wouldn’t stand for it.”

"Exactly, you should be glad you got these two together, so they didn't have to go through the horrible feeling of being betrothed to someone they don't love."

"What about you? You can't run forever." Frankie reasoned.

“She'll get tired of trying to chase me down, it's not like she actually loves me. She's a muggle, you know. She'll be better off with another muggle. If we had a child with such cursed powers, she'd probably want to toss it and have me erase her memory to forget any of it ever happened," Rodger replied, shrugging off her serious questions like they were nothing. "This is it, right?"

All of Frankie’s impending arguments were cut off as they abruptly arrived in front of what had to be the biggest house Frankie had ever seen in her life. It was a glistening white manor with cascading white flowers hanging off the balcony and the giant stone pillars. Lots of people were setting up chairs and tables and plates, magically of course, as they all walked up to the front door. The door was emerald and had silver serpents for knockers. Dumbledore knocked one of the serpents, rather lightly and casually, as if he wasn't already receiving glares from the hired help. He was the most famous Gryffindor there and a known 'muggle-lover'. Hopefully a riot wouldn't breakout when he showed up at the wedding.

Thankfully, the sight of Ellyn in normal clothes, for someone who was apparently rich, and her calm emerald eyes answered the door.

"I’m surprised you answered your own door." Frankie laughed, as she pulled her in for a hug.

"Urgh, it's more of my parents. They like to flaunt their power too much. I'm not even allowed to have a small wedding. The whole town _'must, must, must be invited'_." Ellyn added, most likely imitating her mother.

"May we come in?" Dumbledore asked, politely.

"Oh, yes of course." Ellyn answered, opening the door so they could all fit through. The foyer had hard wood floors and walls with white intricate patterns indented in them. The grand staircase that led to millions of different rooms stood in front of them. It was decorated with more emerald and white flowers strung along the railings.

"This place is huge." Frankie gaped, as they entered. Of course, coming from an orphanage, every house seemed monstrous to her.

"This is nothing compared to Leri's house." Ellyn stated, stopping in the middle of the foyer. She peered into the next room, as if she was looking for something. However, there didn’t seem to be anything that was out of place.

"Is she coming?" Frankie asked, peering into the next room as well to see if Leri was in there.

"My parents invited her, not me." she sighed, with a frown. The news made Frankie want to frown as well. Leri would most certainly try to make her time here a living hell and expose her true identity immediately.

"Do all Slytherins live here?" Frankie asked, suddenly, thinking about the whole year of Slytherins attending. That included Malfoy. It made her shutter just thinking about it.

"Most of them. Some of the Black's live in London, but other than that the whole town is either future, present, or past Slytherins, if not just rich, pureblooded wizards," Ellyn explained. "This reminds me, I know I can't do anything about Professor Dumbledore, but you guys can't tell anyone you're Gryffindors."

"Trust me, the last thing we want is to have everyone in town trying to kill us." Rodger laughed, as if the whole town trying to strike them down with the Killing Curse was funny.

"I thought so. Sorry about this." Ellyn apologized, even though they were expecting it all along.

"It's fine. We really don't mind." Frankie exclaimed, her eyes searching the area around them. She was continuing the peering motion into the next room, even though Ellyn had already stopped. "Um—is Tom here yet?"

"No, but he should be arriving any minute." she answered, continuing to look around as well. At that moment, a loud crack came from inside the other room. Frankie jumped nervously and immediately ran to hide behind Dumbledore. "Speak of the devil. In here, Tom!"

Tom was looking quite exhausted as he walked into the foyer, but the same none the less. The same neat black hair and cool dark eyes as he always had. For some reason it Frankie had expected him to be completely different after only a few short months. It had felt so much longer. Frankie peered out from behind Dumbledore, her heart unprepared to face him quite yet.

"Sorry I'm late. I—"

He was stunned into silence the moment he spotted her hiding amongst the crowd. He thought he’d have more time before facing her again, be able to compose himself and think of what to say. However, there was that oh-so familiar hazel hair, along with her matching eyes staring right at him from behind Dumbledore. Dumbledore simply stepped aside, as if he were merely in her way, rather than her hiding spot. Frankie walked closer to Tom, staring at the ground as she went, yet didn't dare say a thing with all the people staring at them.

"This way, everyone. I'll show you too your rooms." Ellyn smiled, casually pushing everyone back towards the stairs, but them. Not wanting to miss the reunion, yet sensing the atmosphere in the room, they all obliged. Frankie and Tom were now left to say the things they wanted to say, scream and jump into each other’s arms, if they so wished. Oddly though, they remained in silence, waiting for the other to break it.

"A bit rude to Apparate straight into someone's house, isn't it?" Frankie started, not knowing quite what to say. She had a million things she wanted to say to him and tell him after their time apart, but none of them were coming out.

"Says the girl who comes with her own posse." he retorted back. She giggled at his witty comeback and all the awkward air seemed to fade away. Neither of them had changed. It was kind of stupid to have thought otherwise.

"So, why are you late?" she asked, curiously. Tom shifted nervously a bit, probably knowing she wouldn't enjoy the answer.

"I was talking to Mr. Burke about a job." Tom admitted, knowing Frankie would know exactly who that was and what it meant. Despite never being introduced, Mr. Burke was the infamous other half of the dark artifact capturing duo, _Borgin and Burke_. They ran a shop in a semi-secret side alley of Diagon Alley called Knockturn Alley. It was dark wizards only, of course.

"That shop is sketchy, Tom. Don't work there!" she blurted, not caring really if he actually wanted to work there or not. Borgin and Burkes was full of all sorts of cursed, dark objects and was where all the dark wizards shopped. She knew Tom would never sink into being a dark wizard, but still. It wasn’t safe or respectable.

"Aren't you thrilled I'll be in a reasonable distance instead of half-way across the country?" he tried reasoning. Frankie had to admit to herself that was a lot better. However, what she really wanted, was to have him stay there beside her.

"Maybe, but don't count on me visiting you down there. If someone like me takes one step into Knockturn Alley, I'll never come out again." Frankie reasoned back. Gryffindors certainly weren't welcome there, not even if they were with a shop clerk. Taking even one step was like signing a death note, especially to someone like her. The daughter of two well-known Aurors. Surely, some bloke in there would recognize her mother's face, if not flinch at the sound of her name.

"Not even if I beg you? You do want to see me again, don't you?" Tom asked, even know he knew the answer rather well already. He knew that she wanted nothing more than to stay beside him. Forever. She was desperate to keep him and the feeling was somewhat mutual.

"Of course I do," Frankie answered, as she stepped a bit closer. It wasn't till then did she notice that he had grown a bit. He was now noticeably taller than her. "I love you, don't I?"

He knew exactly how to answer her, she had pretty much been asking for it since they had gotten this moment alone. Tom leaned in and lightly pecked her lips at first, that's all he wanted for the moment, but then she wrapped her arms around him refusing to let him pull away. He didn't dare object to her longing. He had waited to long for her not be the one to always pull away, especially with a despaired expression on her face.

"In the middle of the foyer, how vulgar…"

A women's disdainful voice echoed into their world and shot them back into reality. They broke apart and she was standing in the doorway to the other room. Her greying black hair was tied into a neat bun and her emerald eyes were glaring daggers at them. They simply stared at this woman, confused. "And just exactly who are you?"

"I'm Tom Rid—"

"I was referring to _her_ _._ I know who you are." she cut him off, reverting her glare solely Frankie.

"My name is Frankie. I'm a friend of Ellyn and Peter." Frankie answered, politely, even though she was practically feeling the heat from the woman's glare.

"So, you're Frankie? My daughter’s Maid of Honor. Leri talks so horribly of you. It's hard to believe you’re in Slytherin house." the woman spat, as she circled around her like a vulture. She must’ve been Mrs. Pettigrew and Ellyn had most likely told her that Frankie was a Slytherin in the year below them, considering she knew all the Slytherin girls in their year. She was examining her fresh new prey from every angle to see if it even deserved to be in her presence. It was plain to see she could already tell there was something off about Frankie. Tom looked confused, and a little affronted, she had called Frankie a Slytherin.

"She's not—”

"I'm a proud Slytherin. I’m afraid Leri just doesn't like me very much." Frankie replied, simply. She gave Tom a look telling him to just go along with it and he let his expression relax a little.

"I'm sure you are. Just don't ruin my daughter's wedding with your impure shenanigans," she hissed, in a disgusted tone, making a face as if she had just smelled something horrendous. The two were more happy then insulted or afraid, trying not to giggle like grade-schoolers at the word 'shenanigan'. Mrs. Pettigrew looked down on their happiness with shame. "It'd be best for you not to be within ten feet of Mr. Riddle, for safety."

"And how do you know me, madam?" Tom asked, rather politely, despite her cruel malicious attitude. Being charming always dispersed hateful attitudes towards him in the past.

"The girls used to talk of nothing else when they were younger," Mrs. Pettigrew answered, simply, with a hint of a smile. Meanwhile, Tom felt disgusted with the knowledge of the annoying trio talking about him here. "Why a handsome man like you chose this riffraff instead of one of them, I'll never know."

"Come on, riffraff. Let's find our room." Tom stated, flashing a charmingly fake smile. He had turned her harmful name into a cute little nickname for Frankie without even trying. Tom knew it would set her off. When being charming and polite didn't work, he always found it was great fun to piss the person off completely.

" _Rooms_ _!_ " she hissed through gritted teeth, immediately. Tom smiled, seeing the new bully's purpose quite clearly now.

"No, _room_ _._ I'm sleeping with her tonight." he beamed, grasping Frankie's hand. He started leading her away, until Mrs. Pettigrew intervened.

"Young lady! You are coming with me to _your_ room." she yelled, yanking Frankie's other arm practically out of its socket. Tom was forced to let her go. Mrs. Pettigrew rushed her up the stairs and down the hallway, till they reached a door on the right-hand side. She retrieved a key from her pocket, opened the door, and practically tossed Frankie inside.

"What are you—?"

"Silence is golden." Mrs. Pettigrew added, flashing her own fake smile, before Frankie could protest. Her eye was slightly twitching, obviously holding back the immense anger she felt. "The door is locked from the outside and is immune to all unlocking charms. You will remain here till supper and then till morning."

She slammed it shut and left an ear-ringing silence in her wake.

" _It's like being at the orphanage all over again…"_

Another stern figure imprisoning her in a room with little intent on ever letting her out again. Suddenly, she felt right at home. No one dared to come and try to break her out. Ellyn couldn't defy her mother, Tom had already angered her enough, and even if they wanted to break her out without Mrs. Pettigrew's key it was no use. Only once had Frankie's solitary confinement been interrupted by Mrs. Pettigrew to toss her suitcase in, or her 'trash' as she had so lovingly put it. After that the door stayed shut. Frankie didn't mind too much, though, at least her room had a small window she could gaze out of. The window looked out over an exquisite garden that seemed to shine brighter than anything else she had seen thus far. Alliums, Dahlias, Lilies, Pansies, Daisies, Chrysanthemums, and even Jasmines. Strings of lights around small trees alongside cherub fountains filled with Lilly pads. It seemed like the perfect place to have the wedding. Too bad it was going to be held in some church and then the reception was to be held in the grand ballroom of the manor. Suddenly, Tom appeared in the garden just in that moment and she couldn't help but check if the window even opened. It did, fortunately.

"Up here, Tom!" Frankie called down at him. Tom noticed her immediately and smiled as he waved up at her. She waved back down at him with an equally satisfied grin.

"Rapunzel, Rapunzel, I'm surprised you haven't jumped yet," Tom laughed, mischievously. He couldn't help himself. She looked cute, her arms were crossed and resting on the sill, and she was sticking her face just far enough out to feel the cold summer breeze go by. "Or at least let down your long, long hair so we can be locked up there together."

"I cut my hair a couple days ago, in case you didn't notice." she smiled, showing it to him as if he could actually see it from that height.

"Of course I noticed." he answered, as though it had been quite obvious. "Well, there's always that jumping idea. I promise I'll catch you."

"I'm afraid I don't feel like dying. Even if you caught me, that's got to be at least twenty feet." Frankie replied, hanging further out the window tilting her head to look straight down at the ground. Just to make sure she wasn't over estimating the drop. She wasn't. "I think I'll just wait till supper. Do you know when that is?"

"Nobody knows when these rich people eat." Tom sighed, finally showing his exhaustion from Apparating. When your soul is split in three, there's only so much you can take. Frankie's smile faded seeing this. She noticed something seemed different about his exhaustion. It was worse than it had ever been. He had sat down at the garden table when an unpleasant voice drifted in from the house.

"Tom, are you out there? Guess whose here!"

"Shit." Tom was not usually not one for such an uncivilized expression, however, that’s exactly how he felt. He jumped up from his seat immediately and started backing away. He knew who it was, even though he hadn't seen them yet. There was no escape and they would back here any minute.

"She doesn't mean who I think she means…" Frankie gasped, sounding quite terrified herself.

"She most certainly does. You're lucky you're safe up there." Tom nodded, before turning his attention quickly back to the back door.

"I kno—"

The window suddenly snapped shut. Frankie struggled to open in, but it wouldn't budge an inch. She pressed her face against the glass. Mrs. Pettigrew had appeared beside Tom with a shrewd smirk and was shaking her head in disapproval. She grabbed Tom's arm and escorted him inside to face the most terrifying girl that he had ever had the displeasure of knowing. Frankie slid to the floor beneath the window. It was all unfair. So, painfully unfair.

Twenty minutes and the unfairness vanished with a click from the opening door. Tom stood in the doorway, out of breath. Although, utterly exhausted already, he had run to spring her loose from her prison cell.

"Come on, get out while you can." Tom huffed, as he extended his right arm to help her off the ground.

"How did you open the door?"

"I stole the key from Mrs. Pettigrew." he answered, simply, like thievery was not a crime. Tom used to do it all the time back in the orphanage. It was child's play to him now, especially considering he had done far more worse things than stealing, nowadays.

"Oh, Tom…"

"What? Did you want to be stuck in here? I'm not going to stay another second down there without you," Tom argued. "Especially with all those ancient hags and relatives. They started talking about how Leri and I make 'such a _lovely_ couple'. I felt like I was about to vomit."

"I would too. That sounds positively vile."

"Well then, let's go walk on some landmines, shall we?"

"I'm ready for the explosions and carnage, if you are." Frankie grinned, linking her arm with his. They headed downstairs to the dining room where a giant swarm of people were down there waiting for them.

"There they are. Well, it looks like it's time for dinner." Mrs. Pettigrew smiled, as she spotted them. She was in front of guests; she couldn't just blatantly hate them with the public's eye watching her. She did however swipe the key out of Tom's hand very discreetly.

Of course, she made sure to seat Tom at the opposite end of the long table of people, right next to Leri. Meanwhile, Frankie sat with all the grandparents and old people, who had beards longer than Dumbledore's. After all the toasts and speeches they finally dug in to the food on their plates and began mortifying horrible chatter.

"Oh what a cute couple." a women who Tom thought was Aunt Susan gushed. Honestly, how could he be expected to keep up with all these names of people he didn't give a damn about?

"Ugh, no—" Tom started to object, but he was interrupted yet again for the billionth time. It seemed to be a game these middle-aged hags like to play, 'Let's arrange yet another loveless, miserable marriage'.

"How adorable." possibly Cousin Sarah exclaimed.

"When are you two going to get married?" Aunt Susan asked.

"Never." Tom answered, flat-out. He wanted to object more, but they all just kept drowning him out with their stupid words.

"A man afraid to commit, I know what that's like." she laughed and all the other women started to laugh too, except Leri.

"But were not—"

"Don't be afraid, young man. It just takes courage." Cousin Sarah laughed, patting him on the back like he needed to spit something out. Tom honestly wished he was choking to death at this point.

"I doubt she'll say no to such a strapping young man." some other strange woman giggled, amongst them.

"I'm in love with that girl at the end of the table there." Tom shouted above them all, pointing straight at Frankie. She didn't notice all the stares she was getting in that moment because she was making the best of her situation at the d-list section of the table. She was listening to the story of an old man with complete in utter awe. Apparently, it must’ve been a good one.

"That can't be true."

"She's so plain."

"Didn't she bring Albus and those other three boys? They don't seem like Slytherins at all."

"She looks like that one famous Auror. Elizabeth Broad."

"Wasn't she a Gryffindor?" Tom was simply amazed by how fast a topic could change with these women. Unfortunately, it was spinning off in a bad direction. They had identified Frankie’s mother in a matter of seconds and were only a few seconds more into finding out her true identity.

"Yes. I believe she was the one who married his descendent even. Then, they both got themselves killed by the Great Grigor." Aunt Susan laughed, cruelly. Calling the man who killed her parents' "great", made Tom shake with anger. He was far from anything great. He was a monster who had taken everything from her, leaving Frankie all alone in the harsh cruel world.

"I knew her in my school days. A foolish girl indeed." Mrs. Pettigrew scowled, entering the conversation herself. "She did have a daughter, though. Two in fact…"

"Aren't they both dead?"

"There was this whole debate about the younger one at the time. However, didn’t the elder one die just a few years back going after Grigor?"

"I believe I can clear things up. Leri replied, finally speaking up after being silent this whole time. At first she was just soaking up all the praise, but then Tom just had to speak his mind. “Didn't she tell you? Her name is Frankie _Dickson_ , the daughter of Elizabeth and Francis Dickson, the famous Aurors. She’s also a Gryffindor, just like her parents."

"Leri!" he yelled angrily, not finding words in his vocabulary to describe how furious at her he was. Leri just simply sat there sipping her tea, not fazed by his anger. The crowd of middle age woman started whispering about this new information immediately. Mrs. Pettigrew eyes widened and she suddenly got up from her seat.

"My dear, you look pale. I think you're running a fever. Come on, upstairs to your room for rest." she said calmly, as she slithered up besides Frankie. Tom could see her confused expression as Mrs. Pettigrew helped her up from her seat and set off for the staircase.

"Look what you did!" Tom yelled, reverting his attention back to Leri. She was still sitting calmly in the chaos she had purposely created. She hadn't even acknowledged his presence till this very moment.

"It's your fault, Tom. Don't even try to blame me." Leri replied, in a monotone, machine-like voice. "Looks like with her she won't be able to make the wedding. Such a pity."

"I won't let you win. You won't get your way." Tom snarled, seeing straight through her calm façade. She was smirking cruelly on the inside and Tom was the only one who was smart enough here to see it.

"Ooh, lovers quarrel." Tom could here multiple women say amongst them. They all were giggling at him and Leri, again treating them as if they were married.

"Will you shut up, you hags!" he yelled at them as he got up from his seat. Tom ran from the dining room, up the stairs, and down the hall. But he was too late to save her, "Give me the key."

"Liars don't get to come out, traitors don't get keys." Mrs. Pettigrew answered him. "Of all things, a Slytherin and a Gryffindor together! Our great founder must be rolling in his grave as we speak."

"I don’t give a damn what he thinks." Tom stated, truthfully. Both of their ancestors could come up from their graves and Tom still wouldn't listen to their stupid blood feud. "Surely, there must be others before us."

"No others have dared! Slytherin's are pureblooded—"

"You want to bring blood into this! She's pureblooded, I'm the half-blood. I'm the one dirtying her blood." Tom roared above her. From her silence it would seem he had won the argument, but refusal to listen or lose was common in this town.

"She isn't going to the wedding tomorrow no matter what you say. Since she's the Maid of Honor, we'll have to find a stand in," she stated, as if she hadn't heard what Tom had just said at all. "I'm sure Leri would love to do it. She's the right choice anyway for the job. She's known Ellyn since they were born."

"I'm not going to walk down that aisle with _her_!" he answered angrily, through gritted teeth.

"Putting a wedding in front of your 'love's’ health is terrible. Go back to your room." said Mrs. Pettigrew, dismissively, indicating that their conversation was over.

"It's not fair, Tom…" Frankie had sunk onto the floor, defeated.

"I know, but we are in their territory now. I'm afraid there's nothing we can really do." Tom replied, kneeling down at the bottom of the door. He could sense that's where she was, sitting on the floor, trying not to cry.

"Ellyn's going to hate me again."

"She’ll understand. I promise I'll explain it to her." Tom assured her, but he wasn't sure she was listening.

"I missed you so much. I wanted to spend as much time as I could with you before we were split apart again. But there will always be something keeping us apart," she admitted. Being trapped somewhere always made her weaker. She had been trapped inside of her house unable to go out and make friends for so long. She had sacrificed so much for her freedom and she just couldn't handle having it forcibly taken away. "Maybe we should just give up already."

"Nothing will ever make me give up on you," Tom yelled, angrily. How could she ever think that, after all they had been through? "You’re mine forever."

After he left, Frankie gazed out the window once more with nothing better left to do now that Tom was gone. She tried to open the window to let the cool night breeze sweep in and thankfully it opened without struggle. Obviously, without Tom down there Mrs. Pettigrew saw no reason to keep it locked shut. Besides, Frankie could fall to her death trying to get out and that worked out perfectly for her.

If only she had wings, then she would be able to fly away…

She had them once, beautiful white wings, that made her able soar through the sky. They had given her even more freedom even when she already had some. Perhaps, if she so wished, she would be able to obtain them again. So with nothing left to try she closed her eyes and tried to make her wings appear once more.

They did.

She didn't know how they had come back, nor did she really care at the moment. She climbed on to the sill, like she had done that snowy Christmas morning, and jumped into the summer night. There was only one person she would've jumped out a window to see and that's exactly who she soared to the other end of the house to see. As expected, Mrs. Pettigrew put Tom in a room all the way at the end of the house. He was reading the 'nothing-of-interest' book on his bed like always. He really hadn't changed. Frankie tapped the window and he immediately got up and opened it.

"I had a feeling owl girl would comeback someday. I wasn’t expecting it to be today, though." he sighed, as he helped her through the small window. She was glad to see his anger had faded.

"Gosh, I thought this was an only one time thing." she exclaimed, poking one of the wings as if it was infected. Now that she was with Tom she was starting to question their reappearance.

"It was most likely a poorly made Animagus potion. It was made specifically for an owl-type. Since you’re rabbit type the potion didn't work properly it only left you with these things." Tom explained, examining her wings and tugging on them a bit to make sure he was right. "This is why I call you stupid. You should've never drunk that potion."

"At least it's something I can live with. It could've been a whole lot worst." Frankie reasoned, as she swatted his hand away. He acted like she couldn't feel them. Thankfully, with that final tug, they swished back into her back like before. They both sighed in relief as she was once again a wingless creature.

"How?"

"It could've killed me."

"I wouldn't let you die so easily," he stated, for what seemed like the thousandth time. Although, every time he said it she always knew that he meant it. She had lived a life in where he was dead and every day she felt like going to join him. "Especially without me."

"I know you wouldn't ever let me die, Tom." Frankie smiled back. She gazed over at the emerald comforter of Tom’s bed and thought about Tom’s comment of sleeping together. It was not exactly like she could go back to her room. "It's been a while since we got to sleep together."

"Mrs. Cole was wouldn't let us after what happened." Mrs. Cole had made it pretty difficult for Frankie to sneak into his room in the middle of the night, after she caught them. The rest of that summer, she would usually lock both doors till morning and since they couldn't use magic they were no match. It wasn't too bad. She practically forgot about it the next summer, actually. Also, once they got their magic back, it wasn’t so much of a problem.

"I still cannot believe that you told such a boldfaced lie. I invaded your bed and you slept on the floor. Nothing impure happened. We were fifteen."

"You would've done things with me if I told you too." he replied, with a bit of a mischievous smirk. He knew very well he could talk her into doing it if he wanted.

"I would not! I'm waiting till I'm married, like a normal person." Frankie snapped, quite appalled by his accusation. They weren't that type of couple.

"Since, when have you and I been normal?" he answered, with a bit of a laugh. The witch who just grew wings, talking about being normal. Even Hagrid, he had to admit, was more normal then she was in this moment. "We will always be abnormal freaks, you and I."

"In this world we aren't, are we?" she asked, curiously.

"A Gryffindor and Slytherin sleeping in the same bed, let alone in the same room, means even in this world we are freaks." Tom answered, thinking of his conversation with Mrs. Pettigrew. No others have dared.

"We aren't freaks in my world. In my world, we're normal." Frankie said, childishly, as if she had a world of her own. Tom imagined it to be a world where the houses were not so divided and there was not conflict between the worlds. A better and nicer world. However, there were only two worlds and hers' unfortunately was not one of them. They were freaks. But, for what it was worth, in Tom’s world they were normal too.

"Come on, let's go to sleep already," he said, starting to head for the bed. She did not follow straight away though. He had made her wary of his secret motives with their early conversation. "I'm not going to do anything to you."

"Promise?" Frankie asked, holding out her pinky. Tom smiled at their old childish gesture that never seemed to pass.

"Promise." he answered, intertwining his pinky with hers. They both climbed into the giant cushy bed and laid down together. She snuggled into his chest and he closed his arms around her. Sure he might have had some 'impure', as she had called it, things in his mind. But being this close to her after all the obstacles from their ancestor's absolute hatred of each other to Leri and Quin, it was still worth it. He fell asleep holding her close, which was sure better than being just the friend sitting on the floor, waiting for her to wake up and be with him already.


	57. Here Comes the Bride

Thank god Mrs. Pettigrew wasn't like Mrs. Cole and let people slept into a reasonable hour without waking them up. Of course, she had far more important things to do on the day of her daughter's wedding anyway then screaming people awake. Tom woke up at around eight, despite having the opportunity to sleep until the ceremony, if he so felt like it. He had never really been one to enjoy the pleasure of sleeping. It was a dull, boring thing that if his body didn't need it he wouldn't bother with it at all. Frankie, however, was most entertaining when she was half-asleep and seemed to love sleep just as long as it didn't give her nightmares. Dylan had told him she would almost fall off the moving staircases as they walked to breakfast at school. It was one of those memories kind of wished he could have had about her. He wondered if waking her up now would cause her toppling over staircases for him. However, her sweet sleeping expression stopped him. You would think a girl who could sleep anywhere and through anything would make the ugliest face in her sleep, but she made the softest cutest face ever. He slipped out of bed, making sure not to wake her, and started to get ready for the day.

He had just finished straightening his tie when he heard a much muffled groaning come from the groggily, awakening girl. She rolled over and spread out onto his side, somehow knowing Tom was no longer there. Then, she curled into a small ball like a rolly polly.

"Well, good morning to you too." he sighed, thinking perhaps his previous image of her sleeping might have just been an illusion. Frankie cringed at the volume of his voice, then sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

"Happy anniversary." Frankie answered back at him, yawning sleepily. Most would have thought a strange sleep induced misunderstanding of what he had said to her, but to him what she had said made perfect sense.

It had been exactly twelve years since they had first met.

"You've been waiting to say that for a while now, haven't you?" he questioned, with a little suspicion in his voice. Only she would remember the exact day they met, for it was also the day her parents died, it was the day that had started all of this. Today was this horrible yet wonderful day.

"If I had said it in the past it would've been weird." she answered, for a fact. They both had happened to be in different relationships in the past. If one of them had said something of the sort, the other would have gotten the wrong idea. "Also, you didn't love me since the moment we met, did you?"

"I didn’t know what exactly to think of you when we first met. Then, when I met you again, you frustrated me because you were the only girl I couldn't make cry or frighten half to death, the only one who was bold and stupid enough to try and befriend me. Honestly, you annoyed me so much," Tom answered, sounding rather harsh and truthful. He could remember very clearly how he felt with her before they became friends, her attitude and manor completely frustrated him yet intrigued him at the same time. "Then, my magic didn't work on you, you stood up to Billy and made him punch himself in the face. That moment I realized you weren't just different. You were just like me."

"You still didn't love me though." Frankie stated, but did not sound the least bit disappointed. Most girls would've been upset that he did not at least lie and say he had loved her since the first second she emerged from those bushes and actually had somewhat hated her back then, but Frankie would've been able to tell he was lying. She almost always could.

"No. And I admit after we got sorted at school I figured everyone there had magic and I would no longer need you anymore, especially with us being in opposite houses. I thought your magic was the only thing that made you special," he replied, once again showing that cruel sort of honesty knowing she could take it. But then he smiled. "I was such a fool, to almost toss aside the friendship of such an amazing and important person."

"Why did you change your mind?" she asked, suddenly springing from the bed and walking towards him. Tom moved out of his chair instinctively, having a feeling she was going for the mirror not him. Even if she wasn't, he thought she should. Her hair may have been shorter, but it was still became a rather giant ball of fluff in the morning.

"I just thought it was stupid to let two colors define us and who we could become," he answered, not wanting to admit what changed his mind was a stupid little fantasy seen in a mirror. It was also partially Leri's attitude that made him want to prove her wrong. A Gryffindor and a Slytherin could be together if they wanted to be. "There was no one else who understood how I felt about the world or about anything."

"I never understood how you felt about me." Frankie admitted, stopping mid brush. She looked a little ashamed; even though he knew she hadn't known of his feelings until he had first kissed her. She might've still felt a little bad about not being able to truly return his feelings, until last November.

"You're extremely dense, you know. It wasn't my fault you couldn't figure it out." Tom sighed. She was the kind of person that needed to be told straight out by a person that they had feelings for her, which had unfortunately never been Tom's style. Expressing his feelings, was still something he somewhat struggled with despite how he acted around her. He still sometimes hid behind snarky comments and hateful words. He was just lucky she could interpret them for him.

"I know, I know." She had been told this all before. With one last swish of the brush she set it back down and leapt for the door. It was enough reminiscing for one anniversary and they would surely have plenty more in the future. "Let's go eat!"

"Stay beside me or Dumbledore. She can't touch you if you're always with one of us." he whispered, as he grabbed her hand tightly. He wouldn't let her go this time. They walked down the hall, trying not to get hit by all the maids and servants rushing by them and still stay conjoined by the hand. Finally reaching the stairs after some very fancy maneuvering the walked down to find Ellyn waiting at the bottom.

"Thank goodness you're here. I was about five minutes away from having Leri stand in as my Maid of Honor. How'd you escape imprisonment?" Ellyn exclaimed, as she approached them.

"Tom rescued me." she lied, being too tired to explain what had actually happened. Who else would believe her anyway besides Ethan and Minerva? It sounded psychotic if you hadn't actually seen it for yourself.

"It's not very surprising in the slightest, I knew he would. He's the best wizard in our year," she smiled at Tom. He tried to return it but he just ended up sporting one of his creepy unnatural smiles. Tom knew she was right it was just he felt as though he hadn't done anything truly spectacular yet with his life. He still had far more to do. "Speaking of our year, they're here, Tom."

"Why did they have to show up so early? Honestly, they live right down the street." Tom groaned, suddenly growing annoyed and aggravated. As if Leri hadn’t already been enough to deal with, now he had to deal with the reunion of his entire house. He felt as though he had just escaped their constant following. It was not as if he hated being the leader, he loved that fact. It was the fact they still try to act as his friend with him controlling them with a single word he can say. They hadn't even entered the room yet and Tom already felt the sleepiness he had not experienced waking up.

"The mothers have basically made it law that Leri, Cackletta, Annabelle and Lilac will be the bridesmaids and Malfoy, Lestrange, Avery will be groomsmen." Ellyn sighed, showing she did not have much of a choice in the matter. Despite their slight cruelness to her during their school days, they were the only other friends she had. She must’ve had to fight hard for Frankie to be her Maid of Honor. Tom had to give her some credit. Even though it was not a very big battle, her mother was quite the opponent to go up against.

They heard unpleasant laughter as a group of six entered the foyer. It was them, the rest of the Slytherins from their year. They all looked quite professional and mature already. It was probably because they all had jobs working the all impressive Ministry of Magic. Malfoy, Lestrange, and Avery worked in the department of Magical Law Enforcement, while Cackletta, Lilac and Annabelle worked in the Foreign Affairs and Sports department. Peter and Ellyn had both gotten jobs in the department of Magical Education. Tom hadn't realized it till now, but him and Frankie were the only two there without real jobs. The two most brilliant in their year were the two who had settled on remaining at school and applying for a job as a simple sales clerk at Borgin and Burkes.

"Look, its Tom! When did you get here?" Lestrange exclaimed, as he spotted Tom standing with Frankie and Ellyn at the bottom of the stairs. The whole group suddenly looked up and stared at their old leader, being too consumed in their own conversation to notice him before.

"Yesterday." Tom answered, reverting back to his one word answers he used to use back when he had first met the lot of them.

"Fancy meeting you here, my dear." Malfoy greeted Frankie, as he spotted her standing beside Tom. It was not in the usual flirtatious manor he used to speak with her in. It was a casual greeting. Malfoy’s ‘feelings’ for her had been simmered, or willed, to be more precise, down to where Tom wanted them. Usually, Frankie concealed her disliking of him, however this time she quite literally and quite obviously took two monstrous steps back. Although he was considerate and polite, she would not easily forgive or forget how he treated her for the past seven years.

"How've you been, Frankie?" Lestrange greeted her, waving. She returned the wave with a smile and a wave back. Unlike Malfoy, Lestrange no longer just blindly hated her because he could. He was rather nice to her now, along with Avery. The girls still didn't like her very much, but merely tolerated her so they would not feel Tom’s wrath. "I'm surprised you even made it into town without setting off some sort of alarm."

"She tripped over all the alarms yesterday, like an idiot. Be lucky that you're even seeing her at all." Tom answered for her.

"I would've gotten away with it if it wasn't for Leri!" Frankie claimed, outraged, probably believing it was all going well till Leri had blown her cover.

"Even before that Mrs. Pettigrew knew you were lying, you're too odd looking to be a Slytherin." Tom retaliated. She had an overall warm look about her that just screamed Gryffindor. Being a descendent of Godric Gryffindor herself, of course, it was only natural.

"I see you two are still pretty lovey." Lestrange teased, at their arguing.

"That's none of your concern, Lestrange." Tom stated, as usual when he said something about him and Frankie's relationship. Suddenly, a line of fast moving maids and servers dressed in white robes came rushing straight through their circle of people. Frankie and Ellyn were the only two not angry after they passed, understanding they were in quite a rush and it couldn't be helped. The others were too busy cursing the servants for crossing their path in the first place, except Tom. Tom just thought it was plain rude and was cursing them on that aspect. Then, Mrs. Pettigrew just had to pop up at the very end of the line, as if they weren't angered enough already.

"Stop your loitering in the hall. Move, move, move!" Mrs. Pettigrew yelled, as she shoved through the crowd. She was clearly in a major rush, but when something wrong caught her eye she couldn't help but stop. There stood Frankie, hand- in-hand with Tom, completely unharmed and no longer imprisoned. Mrs. Pettigrew glared at her, forgetting she was rushing to prepare. "What are _you_ doing down here?"

"I'm feeling a lot better since yesterday and I wouldn't want to miss such an important day." Frankie smiled, for once using Tom's attitude of smug, harsh sarcasm. She did it all and still sounded buttery sweet, like usual. Tom secretly smiled to himself, being the only person to notice her change in attitude at all.

"Fine, you can stay." Mrs. Pettigrew sighed, not noticing her fake tone and attitude. There was still so much to be done and so little time to do it in. She didn't have time to deal with just this one girl. No matter how many times she destroyed her she would just keep coming back. "Ellyn, you should be upstairs getting ready. Boys, go find Peter already. Go on now. Hurry, hurry up!"

"You heard her. Come on, Ellyn."

A monotony voice called from the middle of the stairs above them. It was Leri of course, the only one who wasn't standing in the crowded reunion of their year besides Peter. Frankie glared at Leri's order. Ellyn had spent all her life taking her orders, so why today of all days should she have to be a follower? She was about to speak up about it as the girls all dispersed from the reunion to help and Leri looked at her ready to fight back. However, Ellyn grabbed both of their wrists and started pulling them up the stairs.

"Can you guys please just not hate each other? Just for today, can’t you just get along?" she muttered to them, as they all walked along. The two nodded, being forced to oblige to the bride's wishes, but still did not look at each other the whole way to Ellyn's room.

The boys had traveled in the opposite direction in search for Peter. It didn't take very long to find him though; turns out he was just eating in the kitchen. He seemed to be staying out of the way of the rampage, despite the fact that this was _his_ wedding. Tom had only remembered seeing him briefly at dinner, but he was sitting at the other end of the table with Frankie and Dumbledore.

"When'd you lot get here?" Peter asked, casually, as if he hadn't practically missing from this whole affair.

"Well, they've just gotten here, but I've been here since yesterday." Tom answered for the group, which was not something he was used to doing. The others were remaining silent for some reason. "Haven't you noticed?"

"Of course, sorry. I haven't exactly been around," he remarked, shoving a spoonful of oatmeal into his mouth. He seemed to be angry about something, though it wasn't hard to guess what. "I'm not allowed within ten feet of Ellyn, according to her mother."

"That's idiotic." Tom stated, flat-out and highly truthful. She had said the exact same thing about him and Frankie and she had just seen them holding hands in the foyer less than ten minutes ago. "She's going to be yours in a few hours. Why not let you get through this chaos together?"

"I agree with Tom." Lestrange stated, being the first one to speak up.

"Same here!" Avery said, as well.

"Me too." Malfoy sighed, seconds after Avery's confession. It would seem though they were now adults graduated out of school nothing had changed, Tom was still their leader. Where he went, they all followed. He would have to be sure and keep that in mind, although quite trivial in this situation it could prove to be very useful in the future.

"Oh, maybe it's because 'technically there has to be a groom, but he isn't very important'." Peter argued, doing a high-pitch, scratchy imitation of Mrs. Pettigrew.

"You know how Mrs. Pettigrew is. It was the same way when we were younger." Malfoy tried reasoning. Tom couldn't even imagine what she was like back then. They would all come over to play and she probably wouldn't even let them do it outside or even have childish toys. They probably spent the extent of their time here sitting, doing absolutely nothing all day long.

"That doesn't mean I want to deal with her, especially today. I'm already nervous enough without her breathing down my neck." Peter argued back.

"What do you have to be nervous about?" Malfoy asked, with a presuming look that indicated he was getting rather annoyed with the ongoing negative feelings. After he was busting his bone to be nice to Peter, he would not have it.

"He's probably nervous that she'll say no out of nervousness. She is the queen of nervous, after all." Avery answered for him. You had to admit, it seemed quite like Ellyn to do something like that.

"Or he'll screw up his vows and—"Lestrange continued on. Peter looked to be shriveling up at their words, as if he hadn't even thought of these possibilities.

"Will both of you shut up already!" Tom shouted at them. Like always, they immediately stopped any sort of noise they were making. Avery might have even gone has far as to stop breathing and hold his breath. It was a command to be followed. "Stop worrying Peter, you're going to be fine."

"Thanks, Tom." Peter smiled, even though Tom had made it sound like another command. Tom was considered to be his best friend, in his mind. Tom had to admit mentally as well, out of the whole group; Peter was the only one of them he ever considered to be a true friend. Not a follower.

The girls surrounded Ellyn at the vanity mirror helping her with makeup while chatting as though they were actually friends. Even Leri was adjusting her veil to perfection with somewhat of a happy expression. Unlike Frankie, Ellyn's hair only reached a little passed her ears was two short to really do anything to spectacular with it, but the managed to make it into a bunch of rippled waves. Her dress was mostly sleek, with a small bit of poof as it flowed to the floor, and had sleeves almost to long for her arms. It was a tinted aged white color and had a lining of small jewels and pearls. Frankie couldn't help but notice the four gems on the neckline, Ruby, Emerald, Citrine, and Sapphire. The colors seem to pop out at her for some reason.

"This dress looks old, like it's from the 1800's—" Leri sneered. Everyone except Ellyn shot her 'don't go there' sort of glares and she, for once, shut up immediately. Ellyn just smiled.

"That's because it is from the 1800's. It's my grandmother’s first wedding dress. My mother didn't want to wear it for her wedding, so I thought gran would be happy to see me wear it." Ellyn answered, seeming not to notice, or choosing to ignore, that the comment was rude and snarky.

"Oh, I've got it! The school colors." Frankie shouted quite suddenly, as a light bulb clicked on in her head. It seemed so random to everyone else, but her, naturally they stared at her confused as to what she was talking about.

"No wonder Tom calls you an idiot." Leri stated, once she seemed to figure out what Frankie was talking about. This time everyone, but Frankie, was giving her the 'don't go there' kind of look. She turned a bit smaller, but kept up her snarky attitude all the same. "Sorry, it slipped out. You know he says it with love anyway, so it doesn't insult you."

"Your right, Leri." Frankie answered, with an odd kind of smile. It was the first time she had ever heard Leri apologize about anything, despite how insincere it had sounded. Not only that, she had indicated Tom had feelings for Frankie, for the first time as well.

"It looks like your grandmother loved the school." Cackletta added, as she brushed Ellyn's hair a little more to finish it up.

"She sure did. My veil only has green and white roses, but she told me hers had these four colors to match her dress." Ellyn smiled. It sounded kind of strange to Frankie. A Slytherin who supported all four houses, her grandmother actually sounded _nice_. "She wanted me to wear it too, but my mother wouldn't allow it."

"To your mother, there is only one house." Leri stated, even though no one really needed to be told that. It was already known by everyone there, especially Frankie. Unlike the others, though, it had only taken her five minutes upon meeting Mrs. Pettigrew to figure this out.

"The gems are subtle enough not to get noticed, but the veil is on top, up for everyone to see," Frankie added. She could imagine Mrs. Pettigrew not wanting to wear a dress of such equality, despite it being her own mother’s. If she could have, Frankie would've been honored to wear her mother's wedding dress. But the likeliness of that ever happening was rather slim, for several reasons. "Even with such small details as this, she is making sure everyone remembers what house has power over all the others."

"I suppose with you and Tom there she'll want to make extra emphasis on that point." Cackletta added as well. It made a great amount of sense. In Mrs. Pettigrew's eyes the houses were surely not equal, almost the whole town thought that way as well. Naturally, Tom and Frankie will somewhat inspire someone to do the same, or even worse. Magical and Muggle. She would do everything in her power to stop others from straying from Salazar Slytherin's beliefs.

"And here I thought school was finished." Frankie sighed.

"It won't ever be over. Our houses will hang above our heads for the rest of our lives," Ellyn sighed, rather grimly. It was true she would always be seen as a Slytherin no matter how kind she was or her actions, but what could she do? The hat had placed her there. Everyone could only dare to dream what would happen if the hat had placed them somewhere else. Her grim expression soon faded and she grew a smile. "That's why I want my child too be a Gryffindor."

The other girls look quite appalled, especially Leri, but said nothing as not to cause the bride grief at her decision. As for Frankie, she couldn't help but smile and give her friend a hug at her words. Surely, whoever they may be, would fulfill their mother's wish and become the very first Pettigrew in Gryffindor.

About an hour or so later the whole town was in havoc, bustling to prepare for a wedding they were hardly going to even witness. Most people just stood in the streets, not being relatives or people important enough to even be able to sit the church as they watched Ellyn walk down to the church. Naturally, Mrs. Pettigrew had to parade her daughter down the street It was more like a parade then a wedding, but they soon arrived to the church filled with relatives and honored guests. The church had been decorated in silver and emerald hangings and the benches had been decorated with silver and emerald streamers. Slytherin colors every single place you look, so you could not help think of the glorious all-powerful house. Tom had been pacing up and down the long emerald-carpeted aisle, until Ellyn finally made it through the door with Frankie at her side.

"It's almost time. Are you ready?" he asked her, taking her hand as they got into position to finally start the ceremony. She took a deep breath before answering him. They were about to appear in front more than a dozen Slytherin. Together.

"I'm ready."

Tom and Frankie were the very first ones to walk down the aisle, the crowd a mixture of stares and glares. They had most likely heard of what Frankie and Tom were through the chain of gossip that constantly orbited this town. Frankie even thought she saw one man in the audience with his wand out, but the second time she looked back Dumbledore had appeared next to him and he was just staring at the front trying not to make eye contact. She tried to focus her attention on Peter all the way at the end next to the priest. He looked rather nervous at first, but upon seeing her and Tom he took a deep breath and cracked a small smile. They were soon followed in by Malfoy and Leri, then Cackletta and Lestrange and behind them Lilac and Avery. The last one, Annabelle, came walking slightly crouched holding hands with a small girl as she threw smooth white petals on the floor. The crowd giggled and awed at the cute gesture. Once everyone was safely standing at the front Ellyn glided in walking arm-in-arm with her father. She looked even more stunning then she did a few hours ago and just seem to be getting more and more beautiful by the second. She had even defied her mother and wore an aged veil with the four different colored flowers. She probably looked just like her grandmother did. Everyone in the rooms mind was focused on how beautiful and grown up Ellyn had become from the small meek girl who begged the hat to put her in the house she never truly belonged. The crowd stared on with anticipation, as Ellyn and her father finally stopped beside Peter at the alter and. Mr. Pettigrew kissed his daughter on the cheek for the last time, bid her adieu, and went to go sit beside his own wife.

"We are joined here today to join these two souls in holy matrimony. I like many here have watched these two blossom from quiet children into adults…" he laughed well naturedly and some out of respect giggled with agreement at his words. But deep down they were just waiting for him to get to the punch line. "Now, do you, Peter, take this woman to be your wedded wife?"

" _I do_ _…"_ Peter answered strongly, as he clutched her hands in his.

"Do you, Ellyn, take this man to be your wedded husband?"

 _"I do!"_ Ellyn answered, possibly for the first time, immediately.

"I hereby pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."


	58. Yet Another Promise

Joy and laughter filled the air, possibly a few tears, as the happy couple walked hand-in-hand out of the church. The ceremony was over and people slowly started to follow behind them. They all walked back to the Pettigrew's manor for the celebration of the happy new couple. The ballroom was waiting eagerly to be filled with people to gape at its beautiful new decorations. Of course, it hardly needed any decorating at all. It was grand enough to stand on its own. All it needed was a bit of liquor and a classical quartet of music and it was pretty much set for the night ahead.

"Stop being all mushy it's time to go." Tom complained. The church was empty now, except him and Frankie. She was sitting in the last row to the right, pondering to herself about the whole entire event even though it was still technically going on. Sad that it was coming to an end.

"Alright, I'm coming." she answered, as she tore off one of the hangings on the side of the bench to blow her nose. She ditched the hanging in her seat and took off to the door with Tom. The streets were anything but quiet as the sun began to set, people still celebrating everywhere. They walked to the house trying to not be trampled by the onslaught of people.

"You should change." Tom added, the second they entered the house again. Frankie was still wearing her shimmering emerald bridesmaids dress and her hair was tied up into a neat tight bun. Tom thought it made her look older, more mature, and he honestly hated it. She almost looked like Mrs. Pettigrew, or Leri, or any other girl here, a Slytherin. Her hair was meant to cascade down her shoulders and she always wore clothes that amplified her warm radiance. It was the odd kind of thing you only noticed when it actually happened. The kind of thing only he would notice. "I've never really liked that color on you."

"It's fine. Surely, you can bear it a few hours more." Frankie answered back, as they continued to follow the flow of people into the ballroom. Like usual Tom's request was a command, not a suggestion. A command she did not follow.

"You'll be on a train in just a few hours and I won't be seeing you again. The least you could do is be wearing something half-decent when we dance for the last time." he argued, acting as though this was their last time seeing each other ever. She ignored this, luckily. But as time grew shorter she would soon have to face the inevitable separation that once again threatened them. It was no use trying to talk anymore about it; he would have to ignore it for the time being as well. "I bet you've gotten worst."

"No, I—"

"Frankie!"

A voice had called out from across the room. Well, it sure sounded like it said 'Frankie'. It was so loud with conversation for all they knew the person could have said something like 'Pumpkin Squash'. But Rodger Day was pushing his way through the thinning crowd with Hagrid, Ogg and Dumbledore following behind him. So, it must have been 'Frankie' after all.

"Oh, Rodger. We're over here." Frankie shouted, turning to answer the call immediately. Tom sighed, as once again their precious alone time had been taken from them. They could've always have pretended not to hear them and casually be swept away by the crowd. Sadly, Frankie was too sweet to do something like that, especially to her friends. So there was nothing more to do but stand there like statues as they approached.

"Well, if it isn’t the infamous Tom Riddle." Rodger grinned, as he switched his attention from Frankie to Tom. Everyone else had gotten a bit stuck in the crowd on the way, but he had pushed through. They shook hands in equally firm grips.

"Rodger Day, it's nice to see you again,” Tom answered him, politely. He knew Frankie's hazel eyes were upon him and he instantly shifted into the polite party manners he had spent his years developing at Slughorn's parties. "Did you enjoy the ceremony, even though this idiot dragged you along?"

"It wasn't what I was expecting out of a Slytherin wedding." Rodger answered truthfully.

"What were you expecting? Tying their arms with snakes? Drinking snakes blood in silver goblets?" Tom exclaimed, in an unintentional crude manner.

"Something along those lines." Rodger laughed, thinking it was some kind joke. Tom had been quite serious. Besides the self-refilling champagne glasses and magical wizard instruments, it was hardly any different from a muggle wedding.

"The same is said for me. I've never been to any weddings, magical or not, but I was expecting something more spectacular." Tom answered, truthfully.

"Oh, Tom…" she sighed, like a disappointed mother while Rodger laughed. Hagrid and Ogg finally made a blockade with Dumbledore behind them and they shoved through the crowd, making everyone spill wine and fire whiskey on themselves, not braced for impact. Frankie and Rodger laughed, as they unknowingly walked up to them having ruined a bunch of rich women's 300 galleon dresses. Tom, however, unable to laugh was glaring at Hagrid as he glared back at him.

"Riddle." Hagrid grunted, spitefully and full of utter loathing. After all this time nothing had changed, but Tom really couldn't blame him for it though. If someone had done the same thing to him, they would be dead by now.

"Rubeus." Tom hissed back, just as spiteful as him.

"Hello, Tom." Dumbledore greeted, cutting through the thick fog of hate like it wasn't even there. Tom and Hagrid ceased glaring immediately. In the presence of a wizard like Albus Dumbledore you didn't want to be glaring like a child, or at least that's how Hagrid thought. Tom didn't want to give Dumbledore anymore of a reason not to trust him.

"How are you, sir?" Tom asked, suddenly, putting up his polite manners again.

"I've just been thinking about how fast you are all growing up. Why it seemed only yesterday you were all newly eleven year olds and sitting in my Transfiguration class." Dumbledore smiled, obviously thinking of all the splendid days they had in school from the very first to the very last. "It makes me feel rather old."

"You don't look a day over twenty, sir." Tom joked, trying to sound modest and kind, yet was still trying to hold back his glare at Hagrid.

"Thank you, Tom. But soon I will probably be sporting a long white beard like a few of the men here." Dumbledore replied, with a far off gaze in his eyes. "I believe I see a bit of brandy at the drinks table. If you would excuse me…"

"I'll go with you, Albus." Ogg insisted, as he pulled out of his conversation with Frankie and Rodger. They all watched the older men leave for the drinks tabled, leaving the group feeling quite youthful. It became hard to seem mature when everyone around them was over thirty at least.

"Time for our heart-to-heart chat, Tom. Hagrid, you keep watch on Frankie while we’re gone." Rodger ordered, as he gained seniority and authority over the group. Hagrid gave a salute and Rodger indicated for Tom to follow him into the crowd.

"I don't need a babysitter. I'm eighteen for christ's sake!" she argued angrily, trying to keep Tom linked at her side. She could probably see the small curiosity in his eyes and the fact that he actually wanted to hear what Rodger Day had to say to him without Frankie present.

"It's so you don't get in the way," he answered her, as he turned to leave and Tom was given no choice but to follow him. So, he reluctantly left and joined Rodger’s side. "Also, eighteen? You act more like your five."

"Urgh, Day—!"

They left her fuming behind them with Hagrid. Surely he would have no trouble returning her to normal though. One word about dragons, or any other magical beast, and by the time Tom returned once more she would be back to her normal smiling self.

"So, I hear you and Frankie are finally in a proper relationship." Rodger started, getting right to the point. Tom sighed. Oh, _that's_ what this was about. Frankie was long out of view now, so he looked out at the random people who caught his eye. A man already drunk dancing around like an idiot, a girl wearing a similar dress to the bridesmaids claiming it a funny accident, Ellyn and Peter were talking at a table, not allowed to have any fun, but still in their own little world.

"Does it upset you?" Tom asked, although not really caring about the answer. It didn't matter what his opinion was. It was probably the same as everyone else in the room. Tom just didn't give a damn anymore.

"It surprised me a bit at first, I admit. You two always seemed so…"

"Different, yes, we get that quite a lot." Tom finished, sounding rather bored. He had heard all this before. Different, different, different, that's what everyone always said about them. He was quite tired of it to be honest. Had anybody ever stopped and looked to see that what if they had something more than differences.

"Exactly. However, after seeing you together and what you’ve risked to be with her, I've figured you're all right for a Slytherin," Rodger added, giving him a pat on the shoulder like they were good friends, rather than almost complete strangers. "You'd better be serious about her. She's pretty special, you know."

"Yes, I know." He almost cracked a small smile. She really was something special. There was a reason she stood out in a room despite appearing to be average, a reason she was so extraordinary, a reason that not could only simply be described by 'she's special'. Any person who knew her well would've said just that. "Why do you care so much about her?"

"When I was in Gryffindor, she was always like a little sister to me," he answered. It made Tom think back to his earlier years at school. When Tom was supposed to be caring about trivial evil the other Slytherin boys had come up with, he had always found himself drifting away to the same sea of scarlet red and gold. Frankie was always standing there, soaking in the warm radiance from her other peers and his gaze seemed to magnetically lock onto her immediately. Next to her usually was Rodger Day, in his years, picking on her about something she couldn't control or something she had said. Tom had no idea how big brothers were supposed to act, but in younger years he had never found that the way Rodger treated her. "So, don't worry about it. The feeling is purely big brotherly."

"Oh, I wasn't—" But the music was drowning him out. What Tom was trying to say was he did not insinuate Rodger and Frankie's odd relationship to mean something more nowadays. However, in the past of course, he had always seen Rodger as a hindrance. Then again, Tom had always found any other man a threat to him. He was certainly the jealous type.

_Stars go wailing in the sky,_

_Seasons slowly turning._

_Silent circles, spinning to an end we cannot know._

_Moon and earth will turn as one, till the sun stops burning._

_Light and shadow moving on a path foretold._

_Day and night turn into years, full of hope and yearning…_

It was an oddly depressing song to be dancing too, if you were truly listening to the lyrics. However, regardless, pretty much the entire room had grabbed a partner and began to sway along with its slow rhythm. Tom walked along the sidelines, till he found Frankie and Hagrid again. She was shifting back and forth on her heels, twiddling her locket around her neck. They were talking about magical creatures as usual, a subject Tom had never been particular fond of as she was.

"The _Crumple-Horned Snorkack_ is real. Tom and I found it in the Shrieking Shack.” she spouted, nonsensically, like always when she and Hagrid talked this way. Their eyes both gleaming with excitement. Whatever this ‘Crumple-Horned Snorkack’ was he was supposed to have found with Frankie, must have been somewhat interesting.

"Incredible! I—"

"Would you like to dance?" Tom interrupted, cutting the lively conversation with a much more intriguing offer. He beckoned for Frankie to take his hand instead of continue on her odd conversation with someone he thought to be a giant oaf.

"Of course." Frankie replied, happily taking his hand. She clearly did not notice the small ulterior motive. She smiled as they walked together to dance, unaware Tom was giving Hagrid a most triumphed glare. It had felt so long since they had danced together. She would have to make sure to not step on his feet, like she had done almost every time before. It was hard to focus with everyone whirling and swirling around, but Frankie could see Malfoy and Leri dancing together just a few feet away.

"Oh, do you think they'll get together next?" she gushed, hopefully. Sadly, it was rather apparent the two were just dancing more out of obligation rather than feelings of attraction. Frankie just couldn't help but hope for something more. A world without Malfoy to bother her. Not like Tom disagreed, both of them were a pain in the ass to him more than they were to her. However, the likelihood of that ever happening was slim.

“It's just one dance. I highly doubt it. You and I must face the fact we'll be stuck with them forever…" Tom answered and she made a disappointed frown immediately. The small dream dying instantly with one simple phrase, it was now his job to fix it. "But, as long as were together, they can't get us."

"Of course, Tom." Frankie smiled, lifting her spirits just as fast as they had fallen. At that moment the foot stomp came right on queue and as Tom suppressed his anger to yell at her, she had to hastily think of another conversation topic. "So, what did you and Rodger talk about?"

"What do you think we talked about? The only thing we could ever really talk about is you."

"What about me did you talk about?"

"Nothing you don't know already, I'm sure." Tom answered, smiling to himself. He was obviously enjoying keeping this information above her. "I mean you must have expected it by now."

"Expected, what?" she questioned, honestly having no idea what he was talking about.

"We've decided to arrange your marriage to the man of your dreams," she gazed at him eager to hear his answer, yet thinking she already knows who it could be. The only man for her…"Malfoy."

"What! No, absolutely not—"

"You're too easy." he interrupted, laughing at her stupidity. The sudden realization that Tom was actually joking, for once, sunk in and she stopped her mad arguing about how she was absolutely never ever going to marry Malfoy.

"And you're just terrible." she claimed, of course not very seriously, to him.

"Of course, I'm terrible. You love terrible, evil, crazy men, right?" Tom remarked, apparently not seriously enough. She thought it was a little joke after his whole Malfoy joke. However, he was not joking in the slightest. Her answer was important to him.

"No, but you aren't _really_ any of those things, are you?" she answered, too much of Tom's disappointment. He had really been describing himself, the one who had murdered and was power crazy. Unknown to her she was quite in love with a terrible, evil, crazy man.

"I suppose it depends who you talk to…" he replied, quite woefully. He really had not meant to create another side to him, or keep it from her and the world, but it was as if he truly had split his soul into two different personalities. Now, she stood confused having absolutely no idea what he was talking about and he couldn't tell her why.

"What do you—?"

"It's nothing. Let's not talk about it now." Perhaps her negative answer had prevented him from telling her the whole truth about him. How could he tell her in such a place anyway? It seemed like thousands of people were around them, staring at them with their beady eyes. If he was to ever tell her of this 'other' side, it would not be in a place like this. "This way."

He led her out of the ballroom and into the garden. The flowers colors illuminated with the house lights and were still quite visible in the night sky. Tom knew it was just the thing to get her mind off of what they had just been talking about. He could always make her forget.

"It's such a beautiful garden. I'm glad I got to look at the flowers up close without jumping out a window." Frankie smiled, couching down to smell one of the lilies in a nearby bushel. "I like our garden better though."

"It certainly didn't ever try to drown us in color." he answered, squatting down beside her to examine the lily as well. She was referring to the garden in the orphanage. Not really much of a garden, but it had always been a nice place to sit and pop out of bushes. "My grandparents' garden had nothing, but white—"

"I surely never would've done that. What were they trying to do? Blind you." a haggish old voice spat angrily, from behind them. They both turned to find a rather wrinkled old woman staring at them with dulling green eyes. Her hair, long and matted, and the slight hunch in her back, made her look much like the old witches that appear often in muggle fairytales.

"I didn't grow up there, or even meet them till I was sixteen. So, I assume not." Tom replied, trying to keep his polite mask on. However, this woman seemed to be oddly irritating him after only saying one thing.

"I only let my daughter do that to the front of the house. That vile little girl isn’t touching my garden." she remarked, grudgingly.

"You planted these?" Tom asked, sounding surprised. He knew old witches and gardening went together, but didn't they have servants to do it for them?

"It's my house! I should be able to do as I please." she replied, huffily back at him. With this cold, harsh reply, Tom had already decided to drop the whole polite act and be himself.

"So, you must be Ellyn's grandmother?" Frankie asked, politely, despite the hostility she had just shown Tom.

"Agatha Pettigrew. I'm pleased to make your acquaintance." she answered, suddenly getting very polite. "No need for introductions. I know who you are."

"Come to yell at us, or are you just keeping us here till the angry mob arrives?" Tom sneered at her, rising from the ground to meet her height. She was the mother of _that woman_. She must've been twice as worst as Mrs. Pettigrew if that was the case. Who do you think taught her daughter such slander?

"Tom! Don't be rude. She isn't like that." Frankie protested, standing up as well. She acted like she had met her before, but she definitely would have told him if that had been the case.

"You trust too much." Tom told her. To his first impression she was in no way different at all. Why did Frankie keep believing that any of them were different? Ellyn, Peter and him had not been different. They were only different because they had met Frankie. She let them suck in her radiance and see the errors of their ways.

"I was just like the two of you in my school days, not only in personality and brains," she answered, suddenly, trying to string them along with mystery. "But in _every_ aspect."

"What do you mean?" Tom questioned. In every aspect? Did she mean she looked like Frankie in her younger days? Tom shuddered at the thought. It was just like when the Fat Lady had told him she had looked like Frankie. It was too hard and gross to imagine and highly unlikely.

"You were in love with a Gryffindor." Frankie gasped, seeming to get it right away. She just knew Ellyn's grandmother would be different, she just knew she would understand. Finally, there was someone who knew how they were feeling.

"I had met him on the train to school, before we were ever defined by our houses. We both honestly had absolutely no idea what house we would be placed in." she admitted, too Frankie's correct assumption. Tom looked quite shocked at the news. There was the mother of the woman who had just locked Frankie up for being a Gryffindor, about to tell them the story of how she herself was in love with one. Frankie, however, didn't seem as surprised as he was.

"Didn't you know you were going to be Slytherin? You were born here. Your whole family is Slytherin.” Tom questioned, like always taking a little longer to believe something unless he had more facts. She had to be lying, making fun of them in a way.

"I thought I was one of those who would break their family cycle! I was not exactly 'Slytherin type'. You know how Ellyn acts, right?" she answered back, a bit angrier and louder than necessary. Tom and Frankie nodded silently at her sudden small bit of rage. Ellyn had to beg the hat to put her in Slytherin, had to be Leri's lackey. "Ellyn is also one who believes all houses are equal, yet she knew in the back of her mind she had to be placed in Slytherin no matter the cost. My daughter would have tossed her out into the streets if Ellyn had even become so much as a Ravenclaw."

"What happened after that?" Tom asked, in desperation for her to get back to the story.

"We didn't care about the houses we had been placed in. I was a bit hesitant at first, but he vowed to me that it didn't change a thing. We had become friends and two colors weren't going to change that. And I foolishly believed him," she continued. They could feel the odd feeling of being told a story they had heard so many times before, yet they hadn't ever heard this story. "We desperately tried to break the taboo, but it was impossible."

"What did you do?" Frankie asked, curiously. It never felt like she and Tom had tried much to change the taboo. Their friendship was pretty much hidden from the Slytherins for the most of their years, but once they were together, it was basically 'She's mine and you don't have a problem with that'. Tom was Head Boy he had the authority and popularity to keep them shut up about it.

"We ended up pretending to utterly hate each other in public and being really good friends in secret." she answered, with a bit of a laugh. There must have been a few funny moments in publicly hating each other, yet Tom knew the real feeling. It was so very painful. He had said so many hurtful things about Frankie to keep up his image with the rest of the Slytherin. The only difference was she had absolutely no idea he was saying all those mean things about her. The only person he was hurting was himself. "We'd take walks and hide out in the forest—"

"You hid out in the Forbidden Forest?"

"Well, why not? Anything in there was a lot less scary then what they'd do to us if we were found together."

"I can't imagine what they'd do to us…" Tom pondered, looking at Frankie. If they had been together back then, they probably would've had far harsher punishment for their actions.

"Anyways, after we were finished with school we foolishly thought it wouldn't matter what house we were anymore and finally got together. We both started out with jobs in the Ministry. I worked in the courtrooms, while he became Auror." she went on, smiling at the happy memories. The huge chunk of freedom they had finally gotten after being in school. It was the happy joyful period Tom and Frankie were supposed to have entered quite a while ago. "Everything was running so smoothly, until I decided to introduce him to my parents…"

"Not the smartest idea." Tom added, bluntly. They were lucky they never had the parent obstacle. He didn't know about her parents, but his were bound to have a problem with it. His mother would have possibly have been ok with it, having no sort of Slytherin pride whatsoever despite the fact she was a descendant of the houses very founder. His father, however, was a different story entirely. Tom Riddle Sr. definitely would have disapproved of Tom marrying anyone magical at all.

"They wouldn't let me out of my arranged marriage if they hadn't even met him before." she protested, trying to justify her choice even though it really hadn't been the smartest thing to do. "As you guessed it didn't go rather well. The second it slipped that he was a Gryffindor, my father chased him out the door shooting curses at him."

"It didn't stop you, though." Frankie added, once again acting as they were reading a book and she was the only one reading far ahead of the rest. It was so nostalgic, this story.

"No, we eloped anyway. And that was my dress…"she sighed, like it was a sad and painful memory. It probably was. Tom was getting the feeling this story was growing to a very dark end.

"It's such a beautiful dress." Frankie complimented. She could spot Ellyn's outline inside. The gleaming gems shone like their own little chandelier and were vividly visible even at such a great distance. The beautiful gems and flowers that had symbolized so much more than just four simple colors, it was something far greater than just a wedding dress.

"Thank you, my dear. I wanted a dress to show how the houses could work together to create something truly extravagant and beautiful."

"If you married a Gryffindor, how are you even here right now?" Tom questioned, even further. With the deathly glares Frankie and him were getting, why did this woman still get curtseys and friendly greetings? She was still the supreme authority, she still owned this house. How was it all possible if she was married to this fabled man?

"Aurors don't last very long. It's a cursed profession. Isn't that right, dear?" she answered, turning to Frankie. Her parent's story was practically legend, it never took long for people to figure what she was. The child who got away. She of all people knew the pain of the profession. It had done nothing but take and take from her and it just kept on taking, most of her Gryffindor friends had gone over to that profession. Frankie nodded to the ground, probably being forced to think about the horrible fate that awaited most of her friends, but Agatha simply continued on with the ending to her story. "When he died, my parents took me back and my second marriage was quickly arranged. Since no one else knew about the affair, it was rather easy to pretend like the whole thing had never happened."

It was such a terrible ending that was somewhat of a surprise. Tom was kind of expecting it. If death was not to separate them, surely something else would. He gazed over at Frankie. She was trying to fight off the tears through a glossed over gaze. It was swimming in her head now. The bright orange flames and the deaths of her parents. The separation of all she loved. She had expected all, but the Auror bit of the story and the terrible ending it had brought.

"Don't think you're the only two like my foolish daughter tells you, plenty before you have tried. Just keep in mind, you probably will not succeed. Don't get your hopes up. You are not any different." she finished, jagged and bitter. The words had caught Frankie just as off guard as the end of the story had, but Tom was once again expecting it. Angry and bitter of the love she had lost, it was only natural that even she would not agree with another couple such as they had been. "Come on now, you two. Now that I've said what I've needed to, let's go back inside. It's bloody freezing out here!"

"They could've made it, Tom." Frankie muttered to the ground, as they walked a little bit behind her. It was a rather frustrating thought. A couple just like them could've made it had not been for that cursed profession. They were torn apart more out of bad luck, not society.

"Just try not to think about it." It was all he could think to say. He could see it bothering her quite a bit, though. Not only did she lose all she loved from the profession, death had almost separated them once as well when they thought they had finally beaten society. Luckily, Tom had been cunning and convinced her it was all just a painful dream. A horribly, horribly, real dream. As they walked back into the house and Frankie stopped him abruptly before they hit the bigger crowd.

She was about to start arguing again, you could almost see the words of Agatha Pettigrew in her eyes _'You are no different'_. They were bothering her too, because according to her, they weren't going to make it either. Out of all people, she was supposed to understand. Out of all the people she was supposed to _approve_. The sound of a countdown drowned out her real words.

_1, 2, 3!_

"She caught it!" Several voices from a crowd of disappointed girls yelled, after a bouquet of flowers had smacked Frankie in the face and fell into her arms. They stared very dumbstruck at the crowd until they spotted Ellyn at the front very front of the group. She smiled broadly and started to clap, for she had tried her hardest to try and throw it that direction. The other girls bitterly followed in her clap out of respect for her bride-ness.

"Congratulations." Tom stated, as he gave her a small peck on the cheek. She blushed quite feverishly upon contact. She wasn't used to having him display public affection. The girls glared in obvious jealousy, before rushing back into other activities. Tom led Frankie more off to the sidelines, so they could continue to talk. "Isn’t this one of those superstitions about marriage? Isn’t this enough proof too show you we'll make it?"

"Are you asking me to marry you then?" she asked, quizzically. The question made him freeze, even though he had kind of pulled himself into the dreaded conversation. Marriage. It had always been something he thought he'd never have to deal with in his lifetime. It was something Tom couldn't even imagine ever happening to him. He couldn't imagine settling into some sort of routine every day, having a wife, a house, a _kid_. Even if it was with her, the thought made him shiver.

"Not at this moment." he answered, nervously. Tom loved her with every bit of the heart he had left. However, did they have to get married to make it? Ellyn's grandmother had done that and look what happened to her. Bitter, oh so terribly bitter, for her unfortunate love and telling them they were basically going to die before the day a couple like them makes it. What if someone had seen him kill Amy Benson and killed him, or he had stayed dead after Grindlewald’s attack? Would Frankie become like that? A bitter old hag telling young kids in love not to be. And what would he become if the opposite had happened and someone killed her? Tom would become even more of a megalomaniac then he already was. He would stop at nothing to ensure that _everyone_ paid for her death.

"Why not this moment?" Frankie questioned. It was quite clear in her voice she wanted him to ask her the burning question. Yet too much of her dismay, he just couldn't. There was just something in the way of him asking her right there and now.

"You can't just pick the moment. It doesn't quite work like that." he argued, as if he had any idea how asking someone to marry you worked. He was quite sure they were a little too young to get married yet. They should at least wait until they were in their mid-twenties, if at all. Just because Ellyn and Peter and actually a huge lot of the kids in their year did too, didn't mean they had to be one of them.

It would seem at this point he was just searching for excuses.

"When then?" she asked, in a monotone, as if she wasn't asking such a big question with such a big answer.

"I'm not going to tell you!" Tom snapped back at her.

"Fine. You'd better not keep me waiting." she threatened, as she held out her pinky. He instantly tied it to his. As if she could find someone else, if he did not ask her soon. However, he did not need to worry about that. Out of all the things he needed to worry about, that finally was not one of them.

"Even if I have to break into that impenetrable castle myself, I promise it'll happen," Tom stated, yet he was already currently breaking another promise every day they were apart. Did he really have the authority to weld a new one? He had promised her every Sunday of the rest of his life, so why couldn't he promise her all other six days of the week as well? There was just something that seemed to be holding him back. Perhaps, it was the dream of immortality, a dream she still knew nothing of. Marjorie had a valid point, how would Frankie react to his other dream, his other side? Surely, she would reject them and him.

' _Horcruxes are the worst things in this book!'_

She had told him that once. But, then again, there also was the implication of being unable to ever hate him. Tom could kill thousands and tear his soul with each and every one and she would stay by his side, surely. They were bound together for life, their fates intertwined. It would surely be alright. Then it was officially set in his mind, once he was immortal, he would tell her everything and ask her that burning question.

_"I just need a little more time…"_


	59. The Dame and Her Trinkets

Two years past. Two years seemed like it be enough time, enough time to make a decision, enough time to have become truly immortal, considering Tom’s extraordinary skills. Unfortunately, there sat Tom, on a dusty stool at the cashier desk of Borgin and Burkes, completely unchanged. He was just flipping through _The Secret of the Darkest Art_ like it was just some boring, common, muggle book, instead of the most powerful and evil source of reading material to have ever been written. It's not like the information within the pages intrigued him as much as it had those many years ago when Frankie had first discovered it. Now, it was basically just memorizing the techniques and saving them away for future reference when he eventually got out of Borgin and Burkes. If he ever got out of there that was.

His main motive for being employed at this shop was to find something rare enough to make a Horcrux, but in the two years he’d been there had found nothing that "intrigued" him. Everything seemed too common for his taste. The next Horcrux had to be like the Diadem. Historical, one-of-a-kind, significant, those were the items he wanted. Sure, some of the things brought in were rare, but still not an item anyone would kill to get their hands on, an item they couldn't destroy even if they wanted to.

"Are you reading that damn book again?" a voice asked, unknowingly breaking Tom from his deep mental thoughts. He looked up from the book slowly to find one of his bosses glaring down at him. The shop was run by Mr. Borgin and Mr. Burke, if it couldn't have been already guessed by the name of the shop, however only ever Mr. Burke was ever around to run it. Mr. Borgin practically never ever came back in whenever he went out. Even Tom had only seen him a few times over the two years he had worked here. Mr. Burke was getting on his jacket and trying to stop his greasy black hair from getting into his eyes.

"Yes, sir." Tom answered, obediently. He had learned by now talking back was the wrong idea in a place like this, Mr. Burke was far more dangerous of a man then you could have thought. Like Tom had noticed, when someone came in with something extremely peculiar that Mr. Burke really, really wanted, you saw it in his eyes. There was this mad, crazy look that looked as though he would just kill them to have it. Tom only noticed because, in the past, he had gotten the exact same look. His eyes flashed red and his gaze looked murderous, like he was going to kill whatever he was staring at.

"Good. Glad you're still educating yourself in the dark ways, might come in handy..." he answered. Surprisingly, he didn't shout and swipe the book from Tom's hand this time. He usually hated Tom reading at his desk when he was supposed to be there 'working'. Perhaps, he was just into much of a rush to care, which meant whatever he was going out for must've been something good. He started for the door immediately, stomping away from Tom and swinging open the tinkling door. "Man the shop. I'm going out for a bit.”

A few long minutes went by where all you could here was the dull ticking of the old grandfather clock in the corner, which never seemed to get sold for some odd reason. Then suddenly, the bell on the door chimed with the first customer of the day. A young woman walked in who was around Tom's age, like most girls who wandered in here, with long raven hair. She was looking around for a few seconds at the creepy skulls and eyes in bottles before turning her attention to him. "Hello."

"Good day, miss." Tom answered, turning on his charms now that there was someone present. He stared into her dark eyes so intensely it looked as though he was trying to peer into her very soul and mind. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Oh—not particularly. I just—"she stammered, not daring to meet his cold gaze again. But suddenly his dark eyes were not on her as well. His eyes were fixed on something outside. A noise, a muffled noise, made by something in the alley. The sound that was like a hacking cough could be heard as something jet black had flown across the window.

"Great, then get out of the way." Tom muttered, cruelly. He pushed passed her and ran out to the front of the shop. Tom stood in the narrow alley, looking around a little, before finally spotted what it had been. He sighed as a fat blob of an owl sat on the roof, looking quite reluctant to leave its spot, as it stared towards the horizon.

"Twilit! Get down here you dumb bird. You don't want to be attacked by the crows again do you?" he demanded. The owl noticed his voice and flapped his wings in preparation to go down. Twilit took one or two flaps before he practically fell off the roof into Tom's arms. He sighed and carried him inside; ignoring the stares he was getting from the young woman he had been talking to. "Finally…"

Attached of course was a letter. This one was tied with a pumpkin orange ribbon and had black cats and pumpkins drawn on it that were apparently supposed to be somewhat frightening. Only she would send a letter like this...

_Dear Tom,_

_Happy Halloween! I hope you're doing well over at Borgin and Burkes. I'm sorry I still haven't been over to visit, but Dumbledore has been keeping me pretty busy over here in the castle. Also, quite honestly, Mr. Burke scares me. Remember that time I accidently went down Knockturn Ally and went in Borgin and Burkes? You pulled me out right after I touched that strange locket. You thought it was going to be cursed sitting in a place like that, but I really don't think it was. Then, Mr. Burke came down shouting at us to get out. School has started once again and it's just been rather hectic with all the new first years. No one names I recognize yet, but I suppose in a few more years I'll be seeing all are friends children running around the school like we did. It feels like only yesterday sometimes._

_I really hope you're not overworking yourself over there. I worry about you a lot, it's not healthy to work so much. You should really take a break and come visit the castle. I'm sure Dumbledore would love to see you again and I know I would too. I haven't seen you in almost two years. The last time I saw you was when I was out shopping with Ogg and Hagrid for some of the nastier pest control items in Knockturn Alley and you were working. It was only for a second, do you remember? I'm sure you can't, I don't even think you saw me…"_

Yes, she was still at the castle. It was her own sort of place holder job, until she figured out where she was going in life. But, unlike Tom, she held no ulterior motive for being there. She loved the school and was most likely going to stay there. Forever, unless he manned up and collected her before then.

Tom was reading the letter so intently; he had not noticed the young woman leave. Nor did he notice the next person walking in. Well, whoever they were, they asked him quizzically, "A letter from Frankie?"

"How in the—"

Then, Tom actually looked up. His short, chubby, mouse-like friend stood before him almost unrecognizable. He was looking quite professional and mature, after two years' time and held a look of a more accomplished man rather than a boy who got teased almost every day and was always treated like a slave by his supposed friends. He might've even lost a bit of weight. "What are you doing here, Peter?"

"I just came for a visit. You must get bored sitting here all the time." he shrugged, like it was just a stop on his way home.

"How could you guess? Not only does he no let me go out to get some of these things, he hardly allows me to be out of this stool." Tom answered, bitterly.

"Well, you're the one who wanted this job in the first place and technically retrieving artifacts is not part of your job. You're just a store clerk." Peter said, in the same matter-of-fact tone Tom and Frankie always used. However, Tom had never heard Peter use it before. "I'm sure once he feels he can trust you with dangerous artifacts he'll let you retrieve them."

"It's been over two years! Why doesn't he trust me already?" Tom argued.

"He probably thinks you look like you're going to walk off with something valuable." Peter sighed, unable to do anything more for his friend's bruised ego. "So, what did Frankie write? Haven't seen her in ages, but she still writes me and Ellyn all the time."

"That's a lie. You and Ellyn work in the department of Magical Education. You can visit her whenever you want." Tom snapped back, knowing by ages Peter meant like months, not even a year.

"We're not supposed to actually go down there, unless there's some kind of emergency, and it's not like the Heir of Slytherin is running around attacking Mudbloods nowadays." Now, younger Peter would've never said that, he would've most likely agreed and offer to take Tom down there with them the next time they went. That was a thing about working at the ministry you had a certain look and a certain confidence. All the Slytherin boys had that now, while Tom, felt his confidence slipping away every second he worked in this dusty old shop. "So, what's going on?"

"It's the same old, same old, down at the school. Dumbledore is keeping her 'busy' supposedly. Honestly, how should I know? I'm stuck here and she's trapped there.” he answered back, grudgingly. Tom knew that Peter already knew what was going on at school. He didn't need him to tell him.

"God, it's not like she's being held there against her will," Peter argued back. "If you miss her so much, take a few days off and go visit her."

"I'm not leaving, not till Burke trusts me." Tom replied. It was an excuse of course. He couldn't even begin to tell Peter about the Horcruxes. No one could know. If he started telling anyone, eventually it'd get to _her_ and she was the last person he wanted to know. At least, currently she was the last person. It was always a back-and-forth debate with himself whether to tell her about them or not. Tom concluded to wait until he had seven and had actually achieved immortality before telling her anything. That way if she were to turn away from this side of him, Tom would still have what he had always wanted.

"Just give it a little more time." Peter sighed, once more, probably growing tired of telling Tom the exact same things over and over. "You are going to go back for her someday, aren't you?"

"Who knows what I'll do. Even I haven't a clue most of the time." Tom replied. He sometimes wondered if he should just stop trying to hold onto her and just let her go. Deep down Tom knew that Frankie would be repulsed if she knew all his secrets and he was too deep in the dark to just simply let them go. He had Horcruxes, for starters, and it wasn't like he planned on sticking his soul back together. To her, they were dark and repulsive creations and he had three of them.

The door slammed close as Mr. Burke returned to the shop. He looked even more aggravated than before he had left and had a few new crumbs on his jacket. He immediately took notice of Peter and Tom and walked over.

"Stop loitering around, you. Get out of here!" he sneered at Peter, towering over him like a giant despite Peter's growth spurt. "And Tom, get back to work!"

"Ack! I'll see you some other time then, Tom." he squeaked, making a break for the exit. Suddenly, Tom could see the small mousy boy returning to his old self once more.

"Bye Peter." Tom said, sounding bored and listless, but also had somewhat of a smile on his face, as he stared back down at his book. His friend had not changed completely after all. He scratched Twilit’s head as he began to read again, completely ignoring his angry boss.

"I don't pay you to sit around chatting, you useless desk clerk!" Burke shouted. Tom had forgotten he was even there and looked back up to see the glare of his boss.

"Sorry, sir. He just came in." Tom claimed, innocently. Even though he really wanted to retort on how he doesn't pay him much at all, he restrained himself.

"Well, don't let it happen again…"

"How was Ms. Smith?" Tom asked, analyzing the crumbs on his jacket and his attitude. He could tell he had gone to the house of Ms. Hepzibah Smith, a wealthy witch who was a frequent shopper at Borgin and Burkes. Every time he went to her house he came back empty handed, covered in cake crumbs, and releasing the anger he had not shown in her presences.

"Stingy broad is keeping all the good treasures to herself. She won't even let me have a look," Burke muttered back, darkly "And after I sold some of them to her…"

"What is it this time, sir?" Tom asked, curiously.

"She's got some goblin-made armor that would go for quite the galleons." he answered. "You should go try Tom—fancies you she does…"

"But, sir, I'm just a 'useless desk clerk'." Tom replied in excuse, faking an innocent sort of mocking tone of voice.

"You may be a worthless piece of nothing, but I've seen you work. You can get a woman to buy or sell anything." Burke added, not seeming to notice Tom's wittily sarcastic phrase. What Mr. Burke said even sounded like praise, not a very good thing to be praised for, but praise none the less.

"It's not really my doing. Women are just stupid when it comes to men." Tom said, thinking about one in particular. His sweet, little Marjorie. Out of all the girls he had ever swindled into love, she had been the most foolish.

"Look, you want to do this or not?" Burke shouted, obviously taking notice of the wit and sarcasm now.

"Fine, then."

He got dismissed from work early and was confined to his room on the second floor of the store to get ready to see Hepzibah. Burke wanted him to make himself presentable and practice. Practice, _what_? If he meant swindling women of valuable keepsakes, Tom did not need practice. He had once convinced a young lady to buy a rather beautiful cursed opal necklace for twice its worth. As she was walking down Knockturn Alley she decided to try it on… It was brought almost immediately by Mr. Burke, laughing sinisterly at the 'poor luck' the girl had died mere feet from the store. They took what was left of her money and god knows where Burke had taken the body. Yet even though it was supposed to be a gruesome experience, it was one of the only times he had ever praised Tom for something.

Since he had no need of practice he just sat at his desk reading Frankie's letter over and over. He remembered the time she almost touched that locket. They were going into their second year of school and Frankie had wandered into Knockturn Alley, not knowing any better. Tom found her alone in Borgin and Burkes staring at a locket. It was gold, oddly shaped and gave him an extremely bad feeling. He hadn't wanted her to touch it and did everything in his power to stop her before Burke came yelling at them. He also remembered that minuscule second they saw each other. It was Tom’s first summer working, almost a complete year since the wedding, and he was making change for a toothless old man buying a shrunken head. Tom had seen her hazel shade shining in the summer light as she walked by and knew there was only one person in such a place who would have that particular shade. A bag of Flesh Eating Slug repellent in her arms, she gazed into Borgin and Burkes as she passed with Hagrid and Ogg. She had given him a friendly wave, hoping he would return it, however, he hadn't. Of course, Tom would've flat out run out of the shop for that chance to talk to her for even a minute or two. But it was a shining moment that he let walk on past. She wasn't allowed to stop and he wasn't allowed to leave.

Tom arrived at the manor at four, where the old woman lived with her house elf, Hokey. He knew it rather well by now for it was actually not the first time he had ventured to Ms. Hepzibah Smith's manor. He had met her in the shop his very first morning on the job and took interest in him right away. Ever since then she kept insisting he come over to her house. Mr. Burke, always thinking he might bring back something good from her collection, let her take him. Tom sighed and straightened the tie of is suit, making sure even though he felt like hell he would look as presentable as he could. He ran the doorbell once and could instantly here a hurry of steps and crashing of items to get it, most likely Hokey.

"Good evening. Is Ms. Hepzibah Smith in at the moment?" he greeted the small elf, as she opened the door.

"Of course, she's been expecting you. This way, sir." Hokey answered, in her high squeaky voice. She gave him a low bow, trying her best not to make eye contact and allowed him into the house. Hokey led him through the slightly cluttered room, tripping over even more items then she had getting to the door. They soon saw Ms. Hepzibah smith sitting in her chair as usual. She a witch on the heavier side, but it was to be expected of someone who rarely left her house. Today she was draped in robes of pure pink and her head was donned with an elaborate ginger wig.

"I brought you flowers." Tom smiled, quietly, producing a giant bundle of roses from midair. He stared at them for a moment. Roses. The symbol of love and beauty. All the girls swooned for this old magic trick, yet every time he performed it he always thought of her burying her face into bouquet of light pink carnations, inhaling their Sugar Quill-like scent on the very last day of school. Tom always had to try his best to block it from his mind or he would end up with the same pink bouquet in his hand.

"You naughty boy, you shouldn't have!" she squealed, excitedly, grabbing the bouquet of roses from his hand and setting them into the empty vase on the table besides her. She was expecting them. "You do spoil this old lady, Tom….Sit down, sit down…. Where's Hokey? Ah…"

"Help yourself, Tom," Hepzibah remarked, practically shoving a plate filled with pastries in his face the second he sat down in the opposing armchair. "I know how you love my cakes. Now, how are you? You look pale. They overwork you at that shop. I've said it a hundred times…."

He forced a crooked mechanical smile and Hepzibah simpered. She seemed to know now that Tom had ulterior motives for coming to see her just by the look on his face.

"Well, what's your excuse for visiting this time?" she asked.

"Mr. Burke would like to make an improved offer on the goblin-made armor," Tom added. "Five hundred Galleons, he feels it is a more than fair—"

"Now, now, not so fast, or I think you're only here for my trinkets!" Hepzibah pouted.

"I am ordered here because of them," he answered, quietly. "I am only a poor assistant, madam, who must do as he is told. Mr. Burke wishes for me to inquire—"

"Oh, Mr. Burke, phooey!" Hepzibah whined. "I've something to show you that I've never shown Mr. Burke! Can you keep a secret, Tom? Will you promise you won't tell Mr. Burke I've got it? He'd never let me rest if he knew I'd shown it to you, and I'm not selling it, not to Burke, not anyone! But you, Tom, you'll appreciate it for its history, not how many galleons you can get for it."

"I'd be glad to see anything Miss Hepzibah shows me." Tom answered, flashing a charming smile. Hepzibah gave another delighted squeal and clapped her hands to summon Hokey.

"I had Hokey bring it out for me….Hokey, where are you? I want you to show Mr. Riddle our _finest_ treasure….In fact, bring both while you're at it…."

"Here, madam." Hokey squeaked, when she returned with whatever it was. Two leather boxes stacked on top of each other that both looked rather ordinary. She shimmied around tables and clutter until she was by Hepzibah's side again.

"Now," she said, happily, taking both the boxes from the tiny elf and placing them in her oversized lap. "I think you'll like this, Tom….Oh, if my family knew I was showing you….They can't wait to get their hands on this!"

She opened the first box and Tom peered inside to have a look. It looked to be just a shiny gold goblet, however, with the wrappings it was hard to tell. Surely, it had to be something far more extraordinary than that.

"I wonder whether you know what it is, Tom. Pick it up, have a good look!" she whispered, as if it were some sort of secret. Tom extended his hand and lifted the cup up from its silky wrappings.

"A badger," Tom whispered, softly. The four founders of Hogwarts each had an animal to follow along with their house and this was one of them. A badger. There was only one person this cup could have belonged to. "Then this was….?"

"Helga Hufflepuff's, as you very well know, you clever boy!" Hepzibah clapped and gave a pinch of whatever fat was left of his cheek. "Didn't I tell you I was distantly descended? This has been handed down in the family for years and years. Lovely, isn't it? And all sorts of powers it's supposed to possess too, but I haven't tested them thoroughly, I just keep it safe in here…."

She swiped the cup from Tom's skeleton-like fingers and gently placed it back in its box. Hepzibah spent a few moments trying to get the cup back into its original position, obsessing a bit on having it be in the exact same spot it was before she took it out. A few moments she should've been looking at Tom. He gave a cold, icy glare as he watched her. A dark look passed and went as she finally got the cup into a position she was content with.

"Now then," she smiled, looking around wildly for something. "Where’s Hokey? Oh yes, there you are— take that away now, Hokey."

He watched silently as the small elf took away the first treasure. Hepzibah, however, was moving onto the second box and Tom turned back to it with curiosity. This second box was smaller and much flatter, but whatever was in there was surely not to disappoint.

"I think you'll like this even more, Tom," Hepzibah whispered. "Lean in a little dear boy so you can see….Of course, Burke knows I've got this one, I bought it from him, and I daresay he'd love to get it back when I'm gone…."

She flicked open the clasp and lifted the lid of the box open. There amongst the scarlet velvet was a heavy gold locket. It was the strange one he and Frankie had seen that one day in Borgin and Burkes. He wouldn't have recognized it if it hadn't been for Frankie's letter. However, this time he noticed something new, something that he had not the last time. On the front, was a slithering serpent in the shape of an S.

"Slytherin’s mark." Tom whispered, taking it from the box and shining it up to the light.

"That's right!" she smiled happily, at the sight of him gazing at her treasure such a mesmerized gaze. "I had to pay an arm and a leg for it, but I couldn't let it pass, not a real treasure like that, had to have it for my collection. Burke bought it, apparently, from a ragged-looking woman who seemed to have stolen it, but had no idea of its true value—"

Tom knew in an instant that she was talking about his mother and his eyes flashed scarlet in anger at her words about her. How dare she call her a thief? Although, he can recall his uncle has said something of the sort. _"Robbed us, mind, before she ran off! Where's the locket, eh, where's Slytherin's locket?"_ At the time he didn't know what to make of it. Tom was just so angry at him, for calling her slut and talking so ill of her. It was what partly made Tom, strike him down and frame him for the murder of the Riddles. It's also what made him respect her and start protecting her in death, for she was not to blame. It was his father and his grandfather and his uncle… _"Dishonored us, she did, that little slut! And who're you, coming here and asking questions about all that? It's over, innit. . . It's over. . ."_

"—I daresay Burke paid her a pittance, but there you are...Pretty, isn't it? And again, all kinds of powers attributed to it, though I just keep it nice and safe…" she went on saying.

_What a foolish thing to do…_

If Slytherin's Locket belonged to him, like it should have, he wouldn't let it waste away in a box collecting dust, that's for sure. She suddenly reached out for the locket and of course he didn't want to let it go. It was his mother's last and only keepsake, his ancestor's locket, it practically belonged to him. However, he let it slip through his fingers as the second treasure was taken from him.

"So there you are, Tom, dear, and I hoped you enjoyed that!"

He had enjoyed it all too much and now that the treasures were taken from him he held a bright red gaze, the gaze of anger and desire.

"Are you all right, dear?" she asked, her foolish smile faltering.

"Oh, yes," Tom answered, weakly. "Yes, I'm very well…."

"I thought—but a trick of the light, I suppose—" Hepzibah laughed, nervously. "Here, Hokey, take these away and lock them up again…. The usual enchantments…"

"I really must be off now." he said, hastily. His desires were beginning to show a little too much. It was time to withdrawal for the day. Tom could've always killed her right then and there, but the risks seemed to run to high. He needed to bide his time, think and strategize a little beforehand, or else he would slip up.

"Aw, that's too bad. Can't you stay just a little longer?" Hepzibah pouted.

"As much as I would like too, Mr. Burke wants me to get back to my duties as a shopkeeper." Tom answered.

"Alright then, until next time." she smiled, giving him a small wave goodbye.

"Until next time, Ms. Smith…" he whispered, making a bit of rush for the door. Tom looked to be somewhat excited and full of so much more life then he had been early.

This was it! It was just too perfect, two birds with one stone. He hadn't seen any such object that had intrigued in such a while. The significance that they held was just exquisite. They would be the perfect things to make Horcruxes out of. He still needed four more. A nightmare from long ago had told him seven was the number he needed to strive for if he ever wanted to become immortal. Such an invincible, unbreakable number of Horcruxes, nothing and no one could stop him.

Mrs. Hepzibah Smith died a few days later. The cause, Hokey poisoning her afternoon cup of tea. That was a real laugh. Meanwhile, Tom was stuffing a shiny gold cup and locket next to his silver tiara and raggedy old diary into a small bag with an Undetectable Extension charm on it. He really did need to find a place to hide these things, several places, in fact. Besides the fact Mr. Burke would kill him if he knew Tom possessed any of these items, except his diary, putting them all in one place would be careless. But, for now, he had no choice but to keep them hidden in the bag and pray Burke didn't find them.

Now, it was time for him to return to his stool, sit, and try to write a reply to her without mentioning absolutely anything about how he was feeling or doing. It was quite a hard thing to do, considering he had just gotten away with murdering someone for the third time. But Tom somehow managed to compose a short simple letter to her, talking of Peter’s brief visit and a couple of stories of odd things that had happened to him while he was working. He gave it to Twilit and he took off again.

 He now only needed two more Horcruxes. Making the cup a Horcrux with Hepzibah as his victim and the locket with some muggle tramp he found fool enough to be wandering the streets that night. Just two more. The physical strain had gotten worse making two at once, since Burke got his goblin-made armor as well as some other juicy trinkets he let Tom take a few days off, which he spent hacking and cold sweating in bed. It felt different having five Horcruxes, like something inside him had changed. He felt even weaker than he had ever felt before. However, this time something miraculous occurred. Tom, rather than staying in the hospital wing for weeks, came back from the strain mere days later. It was odd, abnormally odd. In fact, he felt better than he ever had before. Tom felt stronger, more powerful, maybe even a little more invincible. It was also shocking and maybe even a little bit frightening to him. It was proof that he was becoming altered and the Horcruxes were working on him. He was turning into something else.


	60. The Disappearence of Tom Riddle

It was just another year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Frankie glided down the crowded corridor of the castle, the chaos and madness of students swarming around her, but she gave it no second glance. She got a few waves from some of the students, which she returned with a smile. Although, it had been nine years since she had graduated herself, she walked down the hallway with confidence and a smile. However, even after all this time she was neither a student nor a teacher. She subbed in for teachers when they got sick and was still Dumbledore's sort-of-apprentice, yet she didn't really belong there anymore. A brilliant young witch like her could've been fighting as an Auror or at least be the secretary to the Minister of Magic, by now. She should've been out changing the world.

_Like Tom was._

_Frankie! Frankie…_

A voice called her name and she swerved around to answer the call, but saw no one in the massive crowd of students that flooded the corridor. She looked around the crowd with a slightly worried sort of distressed look, until suddenly someone put their hand on her shoulder.

"Good day, Squirt! How was standing in for Professor Beery today?"

It was Rodger Day staring at her with his different color eyes through his reading glasses. Frankie sighed and rubbed her temple, slightly debating trying to disappear into the crowd and escape. She already had a headache and talking to Rodger would just make it worst.

"Horrible. Those Mandrakes are terribly loud, even with earmuffs."

"I've always hated those little beasts."

"They're very cute, though."

"Yeah, if you like fat, chubby, dirt blobs." he laughed at her. She cracked a small smile and let out a small chuckle. The halls were starting to thin and Rodger looked around as if he was finally noticing they were walking the opposite direction of everyone else. "Are you walking back to your room?"

"Yes, I don't feel like supper tonight and I have a dozen things to grade."

"Allow me to escort you then."

They walked down the corridor discussing things like certain problem students and the upcoming exam schedule, until they reached the deserted hall her room was located in. Frankie waved Rodger goodbye and knocked on the picture frame three times and waited. The picture that guarded her room was named Smith, who was a young man wearing a tweed jacket with bowtie. He often liked to chat with a portrait down the hall, so Frankie was always knocking on his frame to try and get him back. Apparently, he could feel her, because he always came back right away.

"I want to get in."

"What's the magic word?"

"Don't give me that, Smith. You know it's me"

"You could be an imposter for all I know," he argued. Frankie gave him a skeptical look, before she resorted to breaking out her puppy dog eyes. Smith sighed. "Fine, just this once…"

Frankie nodded in agreement, although this was his 50th ‘Just this once’ this month. He opened to reveal a long set of spiraling stairs and she started her slow decent up. Frankie reached the top in an exhausted huff, despite having to climb the same stairs every day, and sat down while she searched for her key in her bag. She found the old fashion key amongst the scrolls and bottles of ink about five minutes into her search and rushed to open the dark blue wooden door. She entered and sat down at her desk, letting out a great sigh. She hesitated a moment before she decided to open one of the drawers. Frankie opened the upper left drawer halfway, until she realized the assignments she wanted was not in that drawer, but were lying on her desk. She was about to close it when the contents caught her eye. Inside the drawer was a fat stack of yellowing letters and notes from Tom Riddle.

It had been nine years since she had last seen him.

They had still kept in contact, though. They were both really busy, Frankie understood visits were near impossible, but they still sent as many letters as they could. However, after a while, the letters eventually had started growing scarce and had even less text than before. Then, suddenly, they had stopped coming all together. Frankie walked over to her bed with the letter and collapsed onto the comforter. She untied the fat stack of letters, took the bottom most letter from the stack and started reading,

_“July 16th, 1943_

_Dear Frankie,_

_I'm having somewhat of an enjoyable time here in Little Hangleton. My uncle and my grandfather are…quite odd. They tell me some wonderful things about my mother. She wasn't much of a witch, but apparently she was a very bright person. She sounds absolutely nothing like me, besides the magic. I guess I'm mostly my father…_

_On a different note, your damn owl is giving me a massive headache. Didn't they have any normal owls in stock? I suppose they don't get too much business in that branch. He's very unique, that's for sure. I suppose he suits you and I'm glad we'll be able to talk now when we aren't with each other…”_

This is what was left of him, besides for Rue. All the letters he had written her since the age of sixteen. They were supposed to stick together, that was always the plan. But now there Frankie sat, alone in her room, with about one hundred and fifty letters. She felt like such a sentimental fool, reading them over in her spare time, smiling at all the memories they brought with them. Tom probably wouldn't have liked that. He probably wouldn't even like the fact she was pack-ratting all these letters, but she couldn't help it. If she threw them away it would feel as though she'd be destroying the younger Tom and shattering something precious to her.

_Where are you? Why won't you answer me anymore?_

The last letter she got was from February 24th, 1950, around four years ago and she had sent her reply straight away. She was beginning to grow worried. How long was she supposed to wait for a reply before she gave up hope all together? Surely, she was way past the expiration date of waiting by this point. Where did he go? Tom had always promised he was going to come back for her no matter what. Did he intend to break his promise to her? Was that always just another lie?

Despite the fact he was all Frankie wanted to think about some days, she actually did have work to do today. So, she shoved the thoughts to the back of her mind, tied up the letters again and pushed them into her desk drawer. Then she got to some of the rolls of parchment on her desk and started writing. Frankie had gotten two them done when she suddenly remembered she was supposed to be running detention. It would just be her and Emmeline Van Dort, a second year girl today and she completely spaced. Frankie grabbed what she would need and ran back down the stairs and out the portrait again. Thankfully, she found Emmeline waiting in front of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Detentions were always held there.

"You're late."

"I'm sorry."

The detention for students wasn't very harsh under Frankie's management. It was mostly just her talking with them while enjoying a nice cup of tea, which was coincidently exactly what she needed to try and sooth her aching head and keep her mind off Tom. They sat at the teacher's desk, chatting and waiting for the tea.

"Professor, you don't seem as old as all the other professors."

"What about Professor Day? He's still pretty young right?"

"Well, I suppose. But you look barely older then all of us."

"I shouldn't really, but I don't think this place allows you to age," she answered, mystically. Frankie sighed and took a sip of her tea. She felt older sometimes, but most of the times she felt like she wasn't growing older at all. "I've stayed here practically since I was student myself."

"Has it changed much?"

"Other than the students, I suppose not. This school doesn't like change..." Frankie sighed, again talking as if the school was alive. The only thing missing here, the only thing that was different, was that all her friends and classmates were gone. Suddenly, there was a clicking on the window and they both turned in a small panic. A barn owl was pecking at the window, glaring at them to let him in. Emmeline got up and rushed to open the window. The owl glided in, dropping the letter in Emmeline's hand, before perching itself onto the desk. Emmeline tore the letter open and started to read.

"Oh, is it important?" Frankie inquired, noticing how she had torn it open with such urgency.

"Of course! Every letter he sends me is important." Emmeline answered, trying to read it and focus on what Frankie was saying at the same time.

"Who? Your father?"

"No, Timothy. You know Timothy Earhart of Ravenclaw."

"He sends you letters?"

"Well, he's Muggle-born so he practically never gets any mail. So first year, when we became friends, I would always send him letters to make him feel better about it," Emmeline explained. "And we don't have classes like we used to. So, we've started sending letters back and forth since we don't see much of each other anymore."

"I used to have a friend who'd send letters to me too." Frankie smiled, at the memories. She could remember each letter clearly, having just read them over once more. They had brought Tom back into her mind once again. He could not be forgotten, even though he was gone. "Whenever we were apart, we'd write letters until we were together again."

"Sounds nice."

"It was. His name was Tom Riddle. I knew him before we came to school and when we got put into separate houses. We didn't want to grow apart so we'd send floating paper cranes and such, even though we had most classes together.” Frankie explained, sounding rather excited. She rarely did ever get a chance to talk about her memories with Tom. They just got bottled up and stowed away. Emmeline looked at her like she wanted to say something, but did not answer. "What is it dear?"

"I don't know it's just something seems very familiar about that name, like I've heard it recently somewhere."

"Well, I'm sure Slughorn talks about him every so often. We used to be two of his favorites back in our year. Then there's that award he has in the trophy room…"

"Was he really someone that brilliant?"

"The most brilliant in our year! The most brilliant boy I've ever known…"

"Emma!" a voice called from the hall. A curly haired boy rushed in, his Ravenclaw tie all askew. After just speaking of him, it was Timothy Earhart in the flesh. Emmeline ran over to meet him immediately.

"Timmy! What are you doing here? Weren't you studying in the library for the Potions exam?"

"Yes, but then I saw Professor Dumbledore and told me to tell Professor Dickson that he would like to speak with her." Timothy explained, pointing at Frankie.

"Really? It sounds very important…"Frankie remarked, looking surprised. Dumbledore didn't usually call her into his office. It must be something really serious…"Right then, off you two go."

"Come along, Emma." Timothy sighed, extending his hand to her. Emmeline took it and they left. Frankie froze as the two transformed into her and Tom walking out into the corridor. Tom would often say that to her, as if she was not allowed to move without his say so. _"Come along, idiot…"_ She stared from the doorway as the ghost like memories ran with the two down the hallway. After they disappeared, she picked up her empty tea pot and cups and made her way to Dumbledore’s office.

"You wanted to see me, Dumbledore?"

"Yes, there are a couple important things we must discuss," he answered, peering up at her from his half-moon spectacles. Frankie closed the door behind her and sat in one of the seats in front of his desk, like she was a student again. "Firstly, Minerva will be working as the Transfiguration teacher starting next year and I will be becoming the new headmaster and replacing Professor Dippet."

"That's fantastic news, sir. Congratulations!"

"Thank you, I look forward to running the school. Now, Minerva will be arriving in about a week, as soon as summer starts, and will be joining us, Ogg and Hagrid all summer." Dumbledore smiled. Frankie nodded and made herself a mental note to tell Ogg and Hagrid about it later this evening when they checked on the unicorns in the Forbidden Forest. "Now, for the second important thing. There is someone here to see you. They're in the library."

"Is that it?" she asked, sounding rather confused. That couldn't have been all Dumbledore wished to discuss with her. He would have come to detention if that was the case, not send a student to come get her. So, what else was there?

"Yes, that is all…"

Frankie left reluctantly and started to head towards the library. He wasn't telling her something important. She knew him well enough by now to know when he was keeping something from her. She entered the library to see not only one, but two people sitting at one of the tables. The short mousy haired girl and broad man could barely be seen above what looked to be a muggle newspaper instead of the Daily Prophet, but Frankie recognized the two right away. They noticed her arrival and they got up to greet their old friend. Peter gave her a quick hug, while she and Ellyn stood screaming and hugging each other for at least a full minute straight

"I'm so glad to see you both. What are you two doing here?" Frankie exclaimed, after they both stopped screaming like schoolgirls.

"We're here to review some of the many changes happening to the school. I'm sure Dumbledore has told you already." Peter answered.

"Ah yes, he just told me. Isn't it exciting?" Frankie grinned.

"It is, but I just wish it didn't require so much paper work on are end." Peter sighed, sounding

"Quit your complaining, Peter, dear. Remember, you love your job." Ellyn remarked, with a rather forced smile.

“So, what’s new in the world?” Frankie asked, as they all began to settle back down at the table.

“Well, Malfoy has just had a son, so get ready to have to deal with that in ten years…”

They all got trapped in conversation between old friends for what seemed like ages. Nostalgia brought back so many memories and so many people. However, for some reason, a certain person never came up. The person who was always sort of the pivotal piece of their friendship, why had he not once been brought up? Frankie felt as they were dodging him intentionally and, naturally, she had to find out why.

"Oh, I wish Tom were here to see you too…" Frankie added, with an empty sort of smile. "Have you guys seen him by any chance lately? He stopped writing me a while back. I figured that he's finally taken up Slughorn's offer to get him a job at the Ministry."

"Frankie…" Ellyn muttered. Her worried demeanor had returned in a second and she started fiddling with her hands in her lap. "Haven't you read the latest Prophet yet?"

"No, actually. It's rather strange in fact. Every time I try to read it, it disappears from my hands." Frankie replied, adding a sort of ‘poof’ gesture with her hands to express the disappearance. She'd put it down for just a moment, go break up a duel, deal with the chaos and sometime she'd just look away for a split second with the paper in her hand. The two exchanged a knowing look and began whispering amongst themselves.

"Should we—"

"Well, she's going to see it eventually."

"—But."

"She needs to know."

"Yes, of course." Peter finally agreed, with a stressed sigh. He retrieved the Prophet from his satchel and placed it in front of her. She stared at it with puzzlement and confusion. What could they have been talking about? What was so bad they had to argue on whether to tell her or not? "Here, Frankie…"

_"The Disappearances Keep Coming."_

_The current disappearances that have been sweeping the entire wizarding world and are growing more and more every day. It is no secret by now that something has gone seriously amiss in our society. The daily disappearance of objects and people is starting to appear more serious as the size increases. Last week, dragons were reported missing in Bulgaria and still have yet to be found. As of people, a few of high level officials from our own Ministry were taken. All were reported to make no indication that they were ever planning on leaving and their homes have been checked. Some other wizards have been reported missing for several months without sign or trace, and are most likely dead at this point. Although, we are still unaware of this phenomenon's cause, we are aware that if it does not stop soon, the Wizarding World will be in great turmoil. …"_

Below was a list of the confirmed missing people. Frankie was skimming the list when she let out an audible gasp. She had clearly seen what they were debating on showing her. Second row, seventh name down.

**_Tom Marvolo Riddle_ **

“Something bad is going on out there in the world right now.” Peter remarked, sounding worried. However, Frankie didn’t care about the rest of the world, or any of the other disappearances. There was only one that really mattered and it was clear why they hesitated to show it to her.

"This can't be real. He just can't disappear. He just can't..."

A cold bunch of paper rolled together and printed on was telling her that the most important person in her life was not only completely wiped off the map, but was probably dead. She tore the Prophet into shreds and those shreds into even more shreds, before storming out altogether.

_No. Not again. You're not leaving me again!_

Frankie ran down the darkening corridors with tremendous speed, not quite sure as to where she was going but to only get as far away from the library as she could. Then, when she found a satisfying spot, she couldn't help but curl up into a ball and continue with her panic attack. It all made sense now. It could be a big bunch of lies, like the Prophet usually was, but there was always the chance of it being true. He wasn't there to tell her otherwise. Surely, if it weren't true, Tom would have a fit to the editor or at least write her assuring her it was all a huge bunch of lies. However, he hadn't done either.

"The Prophet has been known to be a bit false, my dear. Do not fret so much." A voice added, from behind her. She turned to find Dumbledore standing, looking comforting and fatherly. However, Frankie didn't feel like talking to him, like she would with a father, she felt like screaming at him. He had known and hadn't told her, even gone as far as to try and conceal the truth from her. Peter and Ellyn came running up beside him before she could mutter a single curse word at him.

"Frankie! Please don't worry. I'm sure he's alright."

"There's no way Tom—"

"Let's just drop it." Frankie boomed, over all of them. She glared at them and turned away, clearly tired and annoyed at all of the words of encouragement. It had been exactly the same when she had thought Tom was dead. She had experienced all the same comforting words before and this time they just made her feel sick. Tom had made it quite clear, whether he was dead or alive, he did not care enough about her to have contacted her. The Prophet was recent, but it had been years since Frankie had received so much as a letter. She had done more than enough waiting. He had broken his promise after all…

"He's gone."


	61. The Best Man for the Job

He was, of course, far from being dead.

Death was still improbable, did you forget? He just wanted the media to think that he was dead, so he could move from within the shadows, unsuspected. However, second row, seventh one down. Why, that was downright insulting. Tom had started all of this, after all. Although, it was not like Tom Marvolo Riddle was anyone of importance. A shopkeeper at a shady shop in Knockturn Alley was not exactly the person you cared went missing. However, he was the very first to disappear from the public's eye, though. The others merely followed him. It was like his old school gang of Slytherins, the Death Eaters, except it was much, much larger. He had also officially taken on the name he had created in his school days to refer to his more evil persona, as well…

Lord Voldemort.

Tom Riddle was currently "dead", however, Voldemort was keeping his mission to get seven Horcruxes and achieve immortality very much alive. It had always been more of Voldemort's mission anyway. He just needed two more and then he would be absolutely invincible. Voldemort was also still looking for places to stash his current Horcruxes. It wasn't too safe having them out in open air and he couldn't always have them on him, even on his person, they weren't in the safest place. Not to mention part of the reason Tom had to leave Borgin and Burkes in the first place. Mr. Burke had caught a glimpse of all his precious treasures when he was searching Tom's room, in one of his frequent room checks. He didn't normally pay attention to the bag with the Undetectable Extension Charm, but it had accidently tipped over and all the Horcruxes spilled out. Mr. Burke recognized all the priceless, rare artifacts immediately and of course went straight for them. Tom quickly stunned him, gathered his few things, including the Horcruxes, and had no choice but to leave a bit earlier than he originally planned. Knowing Mr. Burke, he would stop at nothing to get those treasures from Tom. He was probably still trying to track Tom down, despite the notice that Tom Riddle was dead.

The need for a sort of an army, or a band of followers, didn't come till later. He had always thought when he was Tom that he only needed that one person in his life and he would not ever have the need for anyone else. However, as Voldemort, he realized he had a great need for other people. Followers equaled power. He had once told Slughorn that he didn't want to be Minister of Magic, although, he was not actually entirely being truthful. He _didn't_ want to be minister, being minister was still following society's rules.

Voldemort just wanted to rule.

He didn't just want control of the ministry, but to have control of the entire wizarding world. To have everyone kneel to him. He went only to the ministry right after that incident at Borgin and Burkes, not to kick the minister from his chair, but to visit a few old "friends", Malfoy, Lestrange, and Avery. He had decided against Peter, though. A small part of Tom had kicked in when he was in the lift at the ministry. Peter and Ellyn walked in on the next floor, holding hands and smiling happily. He had is cloak on, so they could not see his face. They were talking about supper plans, completely unaware that their old friend was living and right behind them. It was so trivial, so domestic, there was no way Peter and Ellyn could, or would, join him in their current state.

There was also the fact that they might tell _her_ …

He reached Malfoy, Lestrange and Avery without being caught and told of his intentions. They had no choice, but to follow. Tom had always been the leader and always would be. Ever since he found out he was a descendent of Slytherin, he had them all under his heel. The rumor spread throughout Slytherin and everyone in the house soon started calling him the Dark Lord. He had come up with Voldemort soon after. He rearranged his own plain name and started using it as a sort of alias. Only the people in his own year dared to call him Tom. The old Death Eaters had brought him quite a band of followers when they all 'disappeared' from the Ministry. Then, Voldemort traveled far and wide, looking to people who sparked his interest to join him.

It was December 31st, 1956, when Voldemort decided to come just a little out of the shadows. He and a few of his followers had Apparated into the snowy town of Hogsmeade and started heading for the Hogshead Inn, immediately. It was decently crowded for a Sunday night, so the five were able to slip upstairs to one of the rooms without notice. Nott and Rosier entered the room with him, while Muldber and Dolohov guarded the door outside. Voldemort removed hood of his traveling cloak to brush off a little of the snow. He was becoming less and less like Tom Riddle each day. His dark eyes were not yet that piercing scarlet red he had often dreamt of, but they were slowly on the pathway there. His face was as pale as the sprinkled snow glistening on his shoulders.

"My Lord, would you like us to accompany you?" Rosier asked him, taking off the hood of his own cloak as well.

"No, I need to go in alone…"

Voldemort started the hike up the winding snowy path from Hogsmeade a few minutes later. He did not have the time to waste. He was walking at a brisk pace and soon found himself a few feet away from Ogg's hut. He stopped to peer in the window. Hagrid and Ogg were sitting, laughing. It was probably about something stupid. He looked to his left and could see the snow covered tree by the lake of in the distance. He pulled his cloak farther up on his head, so he could not see anything but the snowy road ahead and kept on walking. Finally, he got a glimpse of Hogwarts, as he drew nearer in the foggy, snowy haze. There it stood in all it's glory, a place that he had once called home. Eleven years had come and gone and yet it didn't even show.

Voldemort abruptly stopped once more, in the entrance to the castle. He could hear the clacking of someone else's heels on the stone floor and quickly glided up the staircase, before whoever was there could see him. He reached the third floor and for some reason the stairs to the headmaster's tower had already been revealed, the gargoyles were already stepped aside. Voldemort slowed his pace as he carefully climbed the stairs. When he reached the door, he didn't bother knocking, but just simply entered. It was more or less the same as his other office had been. It was, instead of a square and slightly cluttered room, a large circular room, still full of little objects and odd noises. The walls were not plastered with the trinkets and doodads of trivial things, however, like it had been before. They were covered with portraits of old headmasters and, who were currently snoozing in their frames. The portrait of the young, sunny haired girl that used to hang on the wall, Dumbledore seemed too have gotten rid of. She must have not gone with the décor anymore. Dumbledore sat behind the enormous, claw-footed desk, showing no sign of surprise. Voldemort looked at him with a somewhat surprised look, though. If you thought one of your old students was dead, surely you'd show some kind of emotion if they came walking into your office randomly.

Someone must have warned him…

"Good evening, Tom." Dumbledore stated. Voldemort already felt a singe of anger, from being referred to as Tom, but did his best to suppress it. Dumbledore gestured to the seat in front of the desk that was normally placed for students. "Won't you sit down?"

"Thank you," Voldemort smiled, taking up the seat to which Dumbledore had gestured to. "I heard that you had become headmaster. A worthy choice..."

"I am glad you approve." said Dumbledore, actually cracking a small smile. "May I offer you a drink?"

"That would be welcome," Voldemort replied. "I have come a long way."

Dumbledore stood and swept over to a cabinet full of several different bottles. He picked a bottle, poured the dark liquor into two goblets and handed one to Voldemort. Then, returned back to the seat behind his desk. "So, Tom ... to what do I owe the pleasure?"

Voldemort did not answer at once, but merely sipped his wine. He was restraining the dying urge to glare at Dumbledore for once again calling him that name. Dumbledore was all-knowing, but perhaps he had not heard, or he had heard and was just as infuriating as ever. "They do not call me 'Tom' anymore," he said. "These days, I am known as —"

"I know what you are known as," Dumbledore stated, with a strangely pleasant smile. "But to me, I'm afraid, you will always be Tom Riddle. It is one of the irritating things about old teachers. I am afraid that they never quite forget their charges' youthful beginnings."

He raised his glass as though toasting Voldemort, whose face remained expressionless. Dumbledore's refusal to use Voldemort's chosen name was a refusal to allow him to control the meeting. The air grew tense and stiff as Voldemort raised his glass as well.

"I am surprised you have remained here so long," Voldemort stated, after a short pause. "I always wondered why a wizard such as yourself never wished to leave school."

"Well," Dumbledore smiled. "to a wizard such as myself, there can be nothing more important than passing on ancient skills, helping hone young minds. If I remember correctly, you once saw the attraction of teaching too."

"I see it still," Voldemort replied. "I merely wondered why you — who are so often asked for advice by the Ministry, and who have twice, I think, been offered the post of Minister —"

"Three times at the last count, actually," Dumbledore corrected him. "But the Ministry never attracted me as a career. Again, something we have in common, I think."

Voldemort inclined his head, no longer sporting his fake charming smile, and took yet another sip of wine. Dumbledore did not break the silence that stretched between them now, but waited, with the same look of pleasant expectancy, for Voldemort to talk first.

"I have returned," Voldemort stated, after the long pause. "later, perhaps, than Professor Dippet expected . . . but I have returned, nevertheless, to request again what he once told me I was too young to have. I have come to you to ask that you permit me to return to this castle, to teach. I think you must know that I have seen and done much since I left this place. I could show and tell your students things they can gain from no other wizard."

It was yet another lie, for the most part. There were actually several things he had returned for.

First, was the sword of Godric Gryffindor. He had the rest of the founder's set of artifacts, all except something of the Gryffindors. The sword would make the perfect Horcrux. It was a powerful, valuable, historical artifact and something that could not easily be destroyed. He could see the sword trying to hide itself among all the portraits on the wall behind Dumbledore. All Voldemort needed to do was get past him. The next reason was the safety of his current Horcruxes. He kept the locket around his neck and his ring around his finger, but the diadem and the cup needed hiding. He was not worried as much about the diary, yet he still kept in the pocket of his robes, always. The castle was impenetrable and had plenty secrets already hidden there. Surely, there was somewhere he could stash them. Then there was the off chance he had actually got the job. Voldemort wasn't exactly lying when he said he wanted the job. In the Dark Arts position, he would be able to raise entire generations as dark witches and wizards and would be creating future followers for him.

"Yes, I certainly do know that you have seen and done much since leaving us," Dumbledore sighed. "Rumors of your doings have reached your old school, Tom. I should be sorry to believe half of them."

"Greatness inspires envy, envy engenders spite, spite spawns lies. You must know this, Dumbledore."

"You call it 'greatness,' what you have been doing, do you?" Dumbledore asked.

"Certainly," Voldemort remarked, his eyes seeming to blaze red at the question. He could feel them burning in his sockets, but he ignored it and rallied on. He needed to keep his composure. "I have experimented; I have pushed the boundaries of magic further, perhaps, than they have ever been pushed —"

"Of some kinds of magic," Dumbledore corrected him, quietly. "Of some. Of others, you remain . . . forgive me . . . woefully ignorant."

For the first time, Voldemort smiled. Not an actual smile or his fake charming one, but a taut leer one. An evil thing, more threatening than a look of rage.

"The old argument," he smiled, softly. "But nothing I have seen in the world has supported your famous pronouncements that love is more powerful than my kind of magic, Dumbledore."

"Perhaps you have been looking in the wrong places." Dumbledore suggested.

"Well, then, what better place to start my fresh researches than here, at Hogwarts?" Voldemort added. "Will you let me return? Will you let me share my knowledge with your students? I place myself and my talents at your disposal. I am yours to command."

Dumbledore raised his eyebrows, suspiciously. "And what will become of those whom you command? What will happen to those who call themselves — or so rumor has it — the Death Eaters?"

Voldemort's eyes flashed red again. How did Dumbledore know that name? Where did her hear it from? I felt the urge to yell at Dumbledore, yet remained seemingly emotionless.

_Now, now, conceal the anger. Don't feel it..._

"My friends," he answered, after yet another moment's pause, "will carry on without me, I am sure."

"I am glad to hear that you consider them friends," Dumbledore stated. "I was under the impression that they are more in the order of servants."

"You are mistaken." Voldemort replied, simply.

"Then if I were to go to the Hog's Head tonight, I would not find a group of them — Nott, Rosier, Muldber, Dolohov — awaiting your return? Devoted friends indeed, to travel this far with you on a snowy night, merely to wish you luck as you attempted to secure a teaching post."

"You are omniscient as ever, Dumbledore." Tom laughed, trying to not let Dumbledore’s surprising amount of knowledge get the better of him.

"Oh no, merely friendly with the local barmen…" Dumbledore replied, lightly. Voldemort was silently cursing picking the Hogshead for a meeting place. He had forgotten about Aberforth.

"Now, Tom . . ." Dumbledore started, setting down his empty glass and drawing himself up in his seat. "Let us speak openly. Why have you come here tonight, surrounded by henchmen, to request a job we both know you do not want?"

"A job I do not want? On the contrary, Dumbledore, I want it very much." Voldemort answered, trying to look very surprised at the implication that Dumbledore has suggested.

"Oh, you want to come back to Hogwarts, but you do not want to teach any more than you wanted to when you were eighteen. What is it you're after, Tom? Why not try an open request for once?"

Voldemort sneered. "If you do not want to give me a job —"

"Of course I don't," Dumbledore replied, like it had been so obvious. "And I don't think for a moment you expected me to. Nevertheless, you came here, you asked, you must have had a purpose."

"This is your final word?" Voldemort inquired, getting to his feet.

"It is." Dumbledore responded, also standing.

"Then we have nothing more to say to each other…"

"No, nothing," said Dumbledore, and a great sadness filled his face. Like he had so much he did want to say to him, but just could not bring himself to do so. "The time is long gone when I could frighten you with a burning wardrobe and force you to make repayment for your crimes. But I wish I could, Tom...I wish I could…"

Voldemort's hand twitched toward his wand in his pocket and was about to draw it out, but then there was a sudden noise behind him that did seem not match the other random noises coming from in the office. It was the sound of the jiggling door handle. He turned around and sure enough the door's handle was being turned and twisted. The door opened, after what appeared to be much struggle, and in flew a woman juggling about fifteen different rolls of parchment at least.

"Dumbledore, I have—"

Voldemort had only glanced for a moment and maybe the slightest hope for someone interesting had come, then his eyes got transfixed on her, unsure if she was real or a ghost. He got locked into a perplexed stare. The woman had stopped mid-sentence for she was staring at him too, just staring at him. She looked a little confused, yet he had recognized her in an instant. How could he ever not? She was the reason he had wanted the stupid Dark Arts position in the first place, not because he planned to breed an entire generation as dark witches and wizards, or hide his Horcruxes in the castle. Tom had completely forgotten the treasure he had left behind at this school. Here, she remained, right where Tom had left her.


	62. You and I

All the scrolls Frankie had been carrying in soon came crashing to the floor, as she got caught in his perplexed stare. She gasped and feverishly rushed to scoop them all back up, while Tom and Dumbledore merely just stared on, making no attempts to help her gather them. The twenty nine year old Frankie looked about the same as she had always. Her large hazel eyes might’ve been a bit faded with time and her wild wavy hair was now contained in a loose bun at the nape of her neck, but ultimately she looked exactly like the girl he had left here eleven years ago. For the first time in a long time, Voldemort had an urge to flee, get out as quickly as possible. Forget about the sword of Gryffindor and finding a hiding spot for one of his Horcruxes. He was not ready to face _her,_ of all people. Tom, however, kept him planted firmly to the spot where he stood. He apparently wasn’t going anywhere.

“Are you alright, my old friend?” Tom inquired, finally offering a hand to help her up. She took it, letting the scrolls just simply tumble to the floor again, and got caught up in his gaze and his charming smile. They were familiar to her. However, it was clear in her expression that she was having trouble figuring out where she had seen them before.

“Friend?” Frankie replied, sounding a little confused.

“Why don’t you recognize me? It’s Tom.” he replied, with a painfully forced laugh. Voldemort could not lie to her under Dumbledore’s watchful eye. However, oddly enough, he did not want to her to hear his new name anyway. Voldemort had just gotten angry at Dumbledore for calling him by his old name, then suddenly _she_ shows up and that’s who he was again. It would seem that she still had some sort of mental hold on him. Frankie just continued to stare at him, which was something he didn’t quite understand. She knew who he was. Why wasn’t she fuming in anger, slapping him across the face, cursing him? The man she had loved left her and was raising an army to overthrow their whole world, for christ’s sake. Certainly, as Dumbledore’s apprentice, she was well informed in Lord Voldemort’s movements. It couldn’t possibly be that he was keeping her in the dark, after all these years. “Oh, that memory of yours. It seems you’ve forgotten me already.”

“Of course, I haven’t forgotten you. It’s just been such a long time. You look different.” she answered, too much of Tom’s surprise. She probably felt silly for not recognizing him earlier. Of course, people you thought were dead don’t come back every day. She really was in the dark. To her, he had just left her here long ago with a promise he’d come back for her someday and promptly died. Which was frankly a lot better than the truth, to be honest. He could roll with this angle much better.

“It’s been eleven years since you last saw me. Of course, I look different.”

“Your eyes…” Frankie muttered, with a slight flash of fear in her own. He looked the same as ever, apart from his eyes. They weren’t the dark ones the Tom in her memories looked at her with, but an unsettling dark reddish color. She didn’t know where, but she had seen him with eyes like that before. A more piercing and sharp red, however, there nonetheless.

“I’m just a little overworked. They’ll be fine later,” Tom answered, shielding them with his hand like he had a bad headache. He didn’t want her to see them. “Honestly, don’t worry about me.”

“So, what brings you back to Hogwarts?”

“I heard about your dear ‘big brother’ Rodger Day going missing and thought I would try and apply for the Dark Arts position.”

Voldemort had something to do with that unfortunate accident, actually. Rodger Day had come looking for Voldemort, most likely on Dumbledore’s order, and was unfortunate enough to actually find him. Of course, he recognized him as Tom immediately. He begged for him to stop all this ‘madness’ and return to society. However, that wasn’t an option he could take, even if he wanted to. By that point, he was too far into the darkness. He had the power and a growing army, why on earth would he want to go back to a world in which he was just no one? Then, Rodger tried bartering Frankie, saying he would make sure that she knew exactly what he was. He was practically begging for death, using that girl to threaten him. He did however make Tom realize his face, although handsome and charming, was too recognizable as the boy he once was. He had to erase that boy from existence, so if he ever did come face with Frankie again, even she wouldn’t recognize him. Not to mention, with age he now saw that wretched bastard of a father staring back at him more than ever. Obviously, he was still working on it. He thought he still had some time and it wasn’t like he was going for something as easy as dying his hair a different color.

“I see, will you be taking the job then?” Frankie inquired, with a hopeful rise in her voice. It was clear to see she wanted him to stay here with her and Tom wouldn’t admit that the thought of walking with her through these halls again would actually make him feel somewhat good.

“Unfortunately, Dumbledore doesn’t believe I am the right man for it. So, I’ll just be taking my leave—”

“No!” she yelled, desperately, grabbing onto his right sleeve. It was as if she thought if she didn’t hold onto him, he would slip away again. Which wasn’t exactly wrong. He earnestly smiled at her childish desperation. She really hadn’t changed.

“No? Oh, I’m sure you want me to stay a while and catch up with you. All you had to do was ask, my dear,” Tom laughed, charmingly, putting his arm around her, “That is, if it’s alright with the headmaster of course.”

“I suppose I see no harm in that.” Dumbledore answered. So, with his apparent blessing, Tom led Frankie towards the door. Once he got her out of here, they could start talking properly without the leering eyes of that man watching them and he might even still get a chance to sneak away and hide a Horcrux somewhere.

“Goodnight then, Dumbledore.” Tom added, opening the office door. Frankie looked back to say goodnight as well, but then saw something in the old man’s distressed blue eyes. Something was wrong. He was worried. She wanted to go to him and ask if he was alright, but Tom hastily shut the door and pulled her down the stairs. They didn’t start speaking, until they were halfway down Gargoyle Corridor.

“Didn’t Dumbledore seem worried to you?”

“He’s the same as ever—”

“Where have you been all this time, Tom?” Frankie asked, suddenly. Although, he hadn’t even remotely brought it up and was still right in the middle of answering her first question, it was surely something that plagued her after he’d cut all his ties with her. It was a burning question she had been saving for years, one that she couldn’t hold back any longer. She had to know right this instant why he left her here all those years ago. Unfortunately, the spineless coward in him still wanted her in the dark.

“More traveling and such. I quite working at Borgin and Burkes.” Tom replied, simply. It wasn’t technically a lie. _Wait, when did I go back to caring whether my lies were actually lies or not?_ Every second he was with her it felt like his new self, the man he had worked to be for eleven years, was starting to fade away.

He didn’t like it.

The feeling sort of burned inside his chest. It was like if someone was putting a flame right over his icy heart and trying to thaw it out. He could not possibly still love her. After all of this time and everything he’d done to mold himself into this new man, he was incapable of feeling love anymore. Love was weakness and foolish. And yet there he was, still voluntarily walking beside her and lying to protect what they used to have.

“Good, I never liked you working there.” she smiled, yet she probably wasn’t satisfied with the vague uninformative answer. The question would most likely come up again later, knowing Frankie far too well. And, when it did, he would be forced to give her a better answer.

Tom looked away for just a moment and realized they had mindlessly wandered to the tree by the lake. Every trivial conversation, every Sunday walk, they all came flooding back to him again and this time he could not simply shove them all away. The wind and fog had vanished, leaving them with a clear starry night sky. They both simultaneously sank into the fresh powder, not caring about the cold consequences. It was their spot and they were going to sit in it after eleven years apart.

“You said almost the exact same thing when I started. It was sketchy, but close. You could’ve actually visited me once in a while.” he reasoned, a little bitterly. Tom remembered sitting on that stool, wishing she’d just pass on by like she had before with a bag of Flesh-Eating Slug Repellent in her arms. He just needed five minutes, or even just a glance and wave again would do. In those days, he wouldn’t admit it, but he missed her quite terribly. It was years that passed by, before he realized that she wasn’t going to pass him by again and he couldn’t just sit there on his arse doing nothing with his life.

“Mr. Burke would’ve cursed me for sure. I’m sure he didn’t want his shop keep flirting with girls, while he was supposed to be working,” Frankie argued back. Tom probably didn’t want to mention Mr. Burke, for the most part, encouraged his charm on foolish young girls. So, he didn’t say anything. “Well, I’m glad you quit. I always thought you were too good to be a shop keep.”

“And I always thought you were better than whatever you call this, yet here you still stand,” he retaliated. As much as he was glad to see her again, she shouldn’t have still been here after all this time. “What’re you still doing here, Frankie?”

“I love staying at Hogwarts—”

“Idiot, don’t give me that. You should’ve gone somewhere better,” Tom hissed, clearly irritated by her stupidity. This girl could’ve done so much with her life by now, but instead she was here wasting it because of something he had once half-heartedly promised her a long time ago, “Found someone better too…”

“Don’t you dare say that to me. Don’t you ever dare,” Frankie shouted back. She rose from the powder to face him properly. Her face was furious and a little bit teary. Did he really think that, after everything they’d been through, she would be capable of finding someone new or simply leave the one place that mattered to them? “I would’ve waited a thousand years if I had too. We made a promise.”

“Could it be, that after all this time, you still feel the same?” he asked, sounding very baffled. Fake death, no contact for several years, you’d think those would be enough reasons to give up on someone.

“I don’t care that you left. All that matters is you did come back. You kept your promise to me.” she smiled, using a much softer tone. He stared at her with a blank expression, for a moment, before suddenly getting up and pulling her into his arms.

That smile was naturally more than he could take.

Tom clung to her with a childish desperation and the intent to not ever let her go again. He let the warm aura that he’d always craved in his youth sooth him like before, make him feel somewhat human again. He didn’t to want ever lose that warmth she brought him. However, the second he let her go, he knew that he’d have to be Voldemort again. The evil sadistic villain who cared about nothing and no one. The weight of the Horcruxes in his pockets and his ‘friends’ waiting for him in Hogsmeade, pulled him back down to reality. Eventually, he had no choice but to let her go.

“Is Slughorn around?”

“He’s probably gone off to bed already, why?”

“I just wanted to pop in, tell him how I’m doing. You know, not dead,” Tom reasoned, with a fake sort of chuckle at the end. It seemed like a reasonable request that he’d be able sneak off with to go find a place to hide one of his Horcruxes. Then, he’d leave her here again, along with this longing to be with her. It was how it must be. The way it was to be done. “I suppose I’ll just leave a letter for him on his desk, if that’s alright.”

“Of course. I’ll come with—”

“That won’t be necessary. I can make it on my own,” he stated, quickly, turning on the spot. However, a damned force was pulling him back towards her. This wasn’t a proper goodbye. It was more promise breaking and being a coward. If anything, she deserved an actual goodbye and a lovely last evening with the man she thought she loved. “Why don’t you wait for me in the Astronomy Tower. We’ll be able to see the stars much better from up there.”

“Alright, I’ll meet you there,” Frankie replied, waving him off. He was walking away and could feel her staring on at him as she left, as if she had more to say to him. A light bulb appeared above her head as she figured it out, “Oh, wait! I forgot to say something.”

“What is it?” Tom inquired, turning back to answer her once more.

_“Happy birthday!”_

He had completely forgotten it himself, but today was his thirtieth birthday.

“Really, you had to stop me for that?” he inquired, with a hint of what could possibly be his first genuine smile in eleven years. She nodded back, affirming it had been very necessary. Tom sighed, sounding a little exasperated, but mostly still grateful. It was so trivial. Age was nothing when you were pretty much immortal. However, he had forgotten what it was like to have someone actually care about him surviving yet another year of life, “Thank you very much.”

He was not going to go to Slughorn’s office, obviously. He removed the diadem from his satchel and began searching for a place to stash it, as if one were just going to appear out of thin air. There had to be somewhere. Tom had been in almost every nook and cranny in this castle. There just had to be a place no one else could reach. He was on the seventh floor when, suddenly, it hit him. The Chamber of Secrets. He had shoved it to the far reaches of his mind in hopes to enhance is cover story and hadn’t gone there since Hagrid’s incarceration. It would be a fine place to hide the diadem, considering not everyone could speak Parseltongue and there would be a fifty-foot long ancient creature guarding it. He began to briskly walk for the [second-floor girls' lavatory](http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Second-floor_girls%27_lavatory), but before he could go anywhere he heard an eerie voice behind him.

_“Tom—is that you?”_

Tom turned around to find the ghost of Helena Ravenclaw floating right behind him. Out of all people he didn’t want catching him hiding one of his Horcruxes the daughter of the one he was holding was probably the first. She had told him it’s whereabouts upon the promise that he would destroy it.

“Good evening, Helena.” he answered, coolly, with a fake-charming smile.

“Isn’t that my mother’s diadem?” she questioned, obviously noticing the object in his hands. It was useless to try and conceal an object she knew so well. It was also useless to try and charm his way out of this one. It was already too late. He placed upon his head and gave her a devilish grin, knowing that would just make it worse. Helena’s fists balled in anger, “You didn’t destroy it...”

“Of course, I did, Helena. Just not how you thought I would,” Tom smiled, taking it off and holding it out to her, knowing that as a ghost she could not take it. “I made it into one of my Horcruxes.”

“You defiled it with dark magic?” she inquired, with a horrified expression. She backed away from him and clutched her head in agony, “I cannot believe it! I won’t believe it.”

“Look at it Helena! I know you can’t hold it, but surely you can still feel the sickening dark aura your mother’s precious keepsake know radiates.” Tom thundered, as he walked closer and closer, shoving it further and further into her face. She backed away, terrified and repulsed, screaming her un-beating heart out.

“How could you, Tom? I trusted—”

“Well, there was your first mistake, dearie.” Tom cackled, like a mad man.

“You’re not going to get away with something like this.” Helena hissed, defiantly. Tom sneered at her foolishness. He had already gotten away with it.

“Who’s going to stop me? You? No one is going to believe a liar like you, over me.” he hissed back, madly. However, he couldn’t have her running off to Dumbledore’s office and relaying all of this information. Tom had to stop her somehow. Then, the brilliant thought of how came to his mind, _“_ _The ghost, Helena Ravenclaw is in my way. I know you can’t kill her twice, but I’m sure you can subdue her at least for a little while...”_

He closed his eyes with a taut knowing smile as the Basilisk answered his call and came slithering into the corridor a few moments later. Helena let out a short sharp scream, before abruptly falling silent. It was over.

_“It is done, master…”_

When he re-opened his eyes the Basilisk was gone and the ghost of Helena Ravenclaw was suspended in midair, apparently frozen. With that annoying hindrance out of the way, he merely rushed back to searching...  

He started too pace in the corridor, thinking of a place to hide it again. There were dozens of places he could put it, but he needed a place that Dumbledore wouldn’t be able to obtain it. He probably already knew about the Horcruxes. That man was seemingly all-knowing and he must’ve had ideas after Tom’s miraculous revival after the battle against Grindelwald. The Chamber of Secrets didn’t seem prudent anymore. It was too well-known and he had roots there. With Dumbledore’s knowledge, he could easily discover that to be the hiding place of one of his Horcruxes.

Suddenly, in amidst his nervous pacing, he noticed a door on his right that he could’ve sworn wasn’t there before. Curiously, he pushed to see if it opened. The door swung upon to reveal a room filled different objects and oddities. There was a mess of giant chess pieces, towers of books, broken chairs, and old brooms, all jam packed into one room. Towers and towers of stuff that spanned on for miles. If he put the diadem in this room, even he probably wouldn’t be able to find it again.

It was perfect.

He went deep into the room, until he found the perfect bust to place it on and left without another thought. His business was done. Now, he had to go meet her. But, however much of a rush he was in, however much he needed to get out, he couldn’t help but stop at the door of a certain room on his way to go see her for perhaps the last time. He had to be absolutely certain of something before he left. It was an unused classroom he had visited in his very first year. Tom looked into the classroom to see himself standing there once more. A great grand mirror in a gilded golden frame stood in the center of the abandoned classroom, still there, after all this time. It shined in the dim moonlight, as Tom slowly approached the mirror to gaze at his reflection inside of the frame. The reflection that he saw stare back at him was in fact him this time. Just him and no one else. He turned away and started walking towards the door, thinking he had his answer.

Then, he froze and turned back towards the mirror.

She had appeared by his reflection's side, like she had once before. The Gaunt ring still on her left ring finger, still smiling as bright as she did so many years ago. Tom turned his head, to glance behind him, although he knew she was not going to be there. The mirror was telling him still, after all this time, he desired to be with her.

On that mind clearing note, he left to go up to the Astronomy Tower and meet her. Tom had to strategize how to handle all of this, what he was going to say when they met again. Should he keep suppressing these feeling like he had for the past few years as he molded himself into a new man, or cave into them and become weak? It seemed like the decision was either Frankie or Voldemort. He couldn’t possibly expect to have both. Suddenly, his deep thoughts and mental decisions got sidetracked by a black blob that was soaring down the corridor towards him. Twilit practically flew right into his face and Tom fell backwards in his attempts to evade him. He landed on Tom’s chest and presented him the leg that a small piece of parchment was attached. Tom sat up and untied the note, thinking Frankie had sent it to him. However, upon reading the short message, he found that was not the case.

_“Dear Frankie,_

_Please escort Tom back to the gate at once. We have very urgent matters we need to discuss._

_-Dumbledore”_

It didn’t take Tom much to figure out that the old man regretted letting his precious ‘daughter’ go walking around the castle with a madman and he also was planning on pulling her out of the dark. _So, he’s finally planning on spilling my true identity to her?_ Tom ripped the message to shreds and continued to walk on, with a happy Twilit perched on his shoulder. He was looking at Tom with endearment, even though he had delivered the message to the wrong person. Tom let the owl affectionately nibble his fingers, so he wouldn’t try and attack his ear. The thing was happy to see him, unknowing to how feared and dangerous he was nowadays. Tom sighed. Since he ripped up the letter, he had to finally tell her what a repulsive creature he had become. He didn’t want it to come from Dumbledore. If it must come out, it had to come from him.

_“I’m just going to make her cry again, aren’t I, Twilit?”_

He finally arrived in the Astronomy tower, after what seemed like many obstacles. Frankie was leaning on the railing, appearing to be deep in thought as she gazed up at the stars. She had let her hair down and she looked more like the girl in his memories. The one he fell in love with. She stood in the bright moonlight, painfully unaware of his presence, until Twilit made sure that they were both seen. He flew off Tom’s shoulder to alert her, begging for praise of having finally found him, after probably many failed deliveries over the years.

“What are you doing up so late, my little bird?” Frankie smiled, as the owl began to flutter around her.

“He’s not little anymore. He’s gotten old and fat.” Tom stated, with not as much of a joking tone as he wanted.

“Don’t listen to him Twilit. You’re still young and beautiful.”

“Idiot…”

“Am I actually? You’ve always called me that, ever since the day we met. I mean I’ve been waiting for you since I was eighteen. Am I really that stupid?” she questioned, suddenly and seriously. Tom was taken aback by the nerve he must’ve touched. Frankie surely must have always known he said it with a loving endearment, yet she had probably seriously had to wonder if that’s really what she was. She had waited so long for a man who had little intention to ever come back to get her and she claimed she didn’t care about where he had gone. She was just blinded by happiness to get to see him again. When it came to him, she really acted like an idiot. However, in the time he had made her wait for him again, surely she had little else to think about, but all those serious questions he refused to answer. She was not foolish enough to let those questions go unanswered a second time. “What’s going to happen to us now, Tom?”

“Things are different. We can’t just —”

“Why not? What has changed?” Frankie questioned. Tom ached to tell her, but he still didn’t know how. How exactly did you say, “I’m kind of a monster nowadays, with five Horcruxes, and I’m building an army to take over the wizarding world”, to someone you loved without breaking their heart. The simple answer was, you couldn’t. “Do you really not love me anymore?”

“It isn’t that…”

“Then, what is it?”

“What do you know about Lord Voldemort?” he asked, suddenly. She looked confused. It was a random irrelevant question to her. However, her answer to this seemingly pointless question was vitally important to him. Whatever she knew now would determine how much exactly he had to tell her.

“What does that—?”

“Just answer the question.” Tom commanded, a little too harshly.

“I suppose not too much. They say he’s a dark wizard who’s been building an army in the shadows to try and overthrow the entire wizarding world,” she explained. It wasn’t much, but it was a little more than what he expected her to know. “Dumbledore seems to be really concerned. I think it was because the boy used to go to Hogwarts.”

“Did he tell you any of that information?”

“No. He doesn’t like me trying to get involved in such matters, when it’s really the Ministry’s job to deal with,” Frankie replied. “He won’t even let me read the Daily Prophet articles on him. However, sometimes I can sneak a copy away from a student.”

“How did you know he went to Hogwarts? That wasn’t in the Prophet.” Tom inquired. Almost no one knew his true identity and he highly doubted that someone who did would have enough guts to go to the Daily Prophet and blab about it.

“I danced with him at that masquerade ball.” she replied, simply. Tom froze. She remembered the fake name he had given her at the masquerade ball and he had realized he’d never told her that was him. He’d used his new name because he thought it was just some girl at first. “It’s pretty scary to think about, right?”

“Frankie, that was me…” he started, slowly. The fearful nerves that he thought he had removed came crawling back to him instantly. His throat was closing up, but not before he was able to mutter, “I am Lord Voldemort.”

“What’re you saying? It couldn’t have—”

“We danced and I took you on a Thestral ride around the school. I kissed you upon finding out your identity for a reason,” Tom explained, although she probably remembered that dreadful night quite clearly. “You were with Quin at the time and it was somewhat cheating. I never had the heart or the guts to tell you that it was me.”

She said absolutely nothing and held nothing, but a blank expression. She was still letting the words sink in, however, he had to continue. He had to keep going, while he still had the courage to do so. Knowing himself, he was minutes away from becoming cowardly and wicked again.

“I am Lord Voldemort. I’ve been building an army and I’m going to rule this world.”

“I don’t understand.” Frankie managed to say, finally. He scoffed a bit at her answer. Tom wasn’t expecting her to play dumb.

“Yes, you do. That damaged brain of yours just doesn’t want you to.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“For all the time I have known you I’ve been hiding a part of myself. A part of myself that ‘Tom’ thought was too ugly and pitiful. He didn’t want you to ever have to see it,” he explained, with an exasperated sigh. “However, over this time away from school and from you, I have learned to embrace this side of myself. ‘Tom’ was the real pitiful one.”

“He was not pitiful!”

“Of course, you wouldn’t find him pitiful. You were in love with him.”

“Don’t you understand? You are Tom. I’m in love with you,” Frankie exclaimed, in desperation for him to comprehend her words. However, they didn’t seem to be sinking into his cold heart. Voldemort looked at her unmoved by the warmth of her words. “You can rearrange your name as much as you like, but you will always be that brilliant boy I knew. My Tom.”

“Rearrange my name? Oh, my clever girl.” Tom smiled, slow-clapping her revelation. It had taken her mere minutes to figure out what no one had yet to discover about his new name. She deserved to be praised for that.

“Please don’t do this,” Frankie begged, childishly clinging to his arm as before. She knew he was minutes from running away and she would not let him go again, even with this horrifying information he’d just dropped on her. She held out her pinky on her other hand, “You promised…”

“I have to…” he sighed, pushing away both of her hands from him. It was true Tom could’ve gone back in the castle and renounced the errors of his ways. He could be Professor Riddle, Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and begin living a simple school life with Frankie. However, he couldn’t survive in that docile little fantasy life for long. Voldemort was destined for greater things. Yet he still craved that warmth that being with her brought him. She made him feel something again and it was not horrible, only useless. However, after everything he had done just to be with her it was only natural for him to want to keep her in his life. He loved her. He wanted her. She was his clever girl, that strange girl from the bushes. If only he could have both, the power and her, “Come with me.”

“Come with you?” she repeated, sounding confused and slightly frightened. He couldn’t be serious about taking her with him back to wherever he was hiding out, or expect her to become some queen of darkness.

“Two orphans who god spat upon and showed no mercy, we deserve to rule this world. You and I, together at last,” Tom exclaimed, with a small rise of excitement in his voice. He extended his arm, beckoning for her to take it. It was a mad thought, but he had thought crazier before. He could whisk her away and they could be together like before. She would learn to love the new him, in time. He had made her fall in love with the sociopathic sadistic young boy he had been. Surely, he could easily make her fall in love with Voldemort too, “All you have to do is take my hand, like you’ve always done in the past, and you won’t ever have to lose me again.”

She gazed at his offer for the longest time, actually debating whether or not to take it. It was wrong, what he was doing was so wrong. However, she yearned to be with him again. She wanted be with Tom, her best friend, her first and only love. He’d actually come back for her and was promising her they would finally be able to be together again. And yet, she looked at those red eyes and didn’t see that boy she had met when she was six. All she could see now was Voldemort…

“No!” Frankie shouted back, with a defiant glare. Tom stood, slightly baffled, as he had to withdraw his hand without hers in it. She claimed that she loved him, yet was denying the chance to stay with him. Even going as far as to glower at him with defiance and disgust, as if he actually repulsed her. Although, he really couldn’t call it very unexpected, he didn’t quite understand. “You have no power over me.”

He sneered at her insolent words, they hurt more than she would ever know. Tom offered her the world and yet she glared at him with resistance. It was ridiculous. She was acting foolish and rash. Frankie really was the cleverest of all the idiots in this world. Well, it didn’t matter what she said now. He wanted her back and would get what he desired one way or another.

“You’ll join me eventually,” Tom fumed. He jumped onto to the railing and she unintentionally rushed to him, afraid of him falling. His taught and wicked smile was illuminated by the moon. Frankie’s resistance was weak and she would soon learn the errors of her ways. As a gifted reminder of what she would soon regret, he bestowed upon her a kiss. Harsh and full of nothing but desire, it was not the same as it had once been long ago. However, she did pull away with a horrified expression. Boy, did that bring back memories. The feeling was gone, but he would get it back. He would have everything he wanted, including her.

“No matter where you hide, I will always find you...”

Voldemort jumped off the tower and into the night, leaving Frankie sunken onto the floor by the railing. Making her cry, just like he said he would.


	63. The New Order

_“Come along, Lily. We don’t want to be late.”_

A boy with long dark hair and a silver-emerald tie was pulling along a girl with fiery red hair and a gold-maroon tie, not really caring who saw them. Prejudice had died down a bit with the arrival of the 70’s and a Gryffindor and Slytherin could walk down the hallway with only a few dozen stares. Although, classes were over for the day, Severus Snape and Lily Evans were rushing off to the Potions classroom again. It was their favorite class, with their favorite teacher, the pair naturally loved to spend time with Professor Slughorn out of classes. However, today they were going to be visiting his stand-in, Frankie. Her name was apparently just Frankie. They weren’t allowed to know if she had a last name or not. They didn’t know too much about her besides that either, considering when she wasn’t standing in for a teacher she was hidden in shadows by Professor Dumbledore. Although, Slughorn did speak of her fondly, every-so-often. She was one of his favorites too. The pair found her a fascinating mystery and were keen to get to know her as they did.

They arrived at the classroom to find the woman they had come to vaguely know and see every so often since their first year at school. She was standing at the window, seemingly memorized by something in the distance. Her long hazel hair soaking and her seemingly young face illuminated in the warm glow of the afternoon sun. Severus cleared his throat to indicate him and Lily’s arrival and she turned out of her daze.

“Good day, professor. How’re you today?” Lily greeted, as she and Severus entered the room.

“Miserable. Slughorn says his injuries from the latest Marauder’s prank aren’t going to be healed for another week,” Frankie sighed, as she sunk down into Slughorn’s desk chair. “Honestly, those boys are going to drive me and every other teacher in this school into an early grave.”

“Who?” Lily questioned, curiously.

“James and Sirius’s gang. They call themselves the Marauders.” Frankie replied, simply. Apparently, judging by her tone and what she thought was common knowledge, she had also gotten friendly with the four Gryffindor boys. Which naturally didn’t please both Severus and Lily. Severus’s face scrunched up immediately at the mere mention of them.

“Oh. _Them_.” Severus snarled, with pure hatred in his voice. His dislike of the Gryffindor boys in his year was obvious. Lily kept quiet, but he knew that she felt the same about those arrogant bastards.

“Oh, Severus. They’re really nice boys once you get to know them,” Frankie argued, obviously noticing his tone as one of extreme hatred. She’d heard it many times over the years. She knew it well. “James’s father was tricky at first too, but he grew out of it.”

“Who else’s parents do you know?” Lily inquired, probably hoping to get the conversation off the Marauders before Severus exploded. He was known to have a bit of a temper, when it came to those particular group of boys. They’d been taunting him ever since their first train ride to school and she felt it was her job to calm him down again.

“Let’s see. Well there’s Lucius Malfoy’s father, he had a bit of a thing for me back in the day. My best friends were Xenophilius Lovegood’s mother, Dylan, and Peter Pettigrew’s parents. Sirius’s aunt, Leri, still hates me with a fiery passion—”

“Did you know Voldemort?” Severus asked, suddenly, before she could list off the various people’s relatives she went to school with. He clearly had other interests along with figuring out exactly who she was. Finding out the Dark Lord’s past would be a little bit more juicer then hers, frankly. Frankie looked bewildered at the seemingly simple question.

“I beg your pardon?” Not only was the young boy not afraid to use the name, like most people nowadays, since he’d gone public. But he had asked her the one dreaded question she had begun to fear over time. Did he know of her previous connection with Voldemort? She had a past with the Dark Lord. Frankie did her best to retrain the urge to break down or show any fear. She tried to keep a rather neutral, slightly dazed, sort of expression and answer the question to the best of her ability. But she failed and just ended up staring at him, uneasily.

“I’m sorry, He-Who-Must Not-Be-Named. You were in the same year as him, right? Did you know him?” Severus apologized, thinking that him using the name was the source of her unsettled expression.

“Who told you that?”

“I smuggled it out of Professor Slughorn.” he replied, with a slightly superior smile. A smile that made Frankie slightly cringe in pain. Both it and the statement were very Tom, which was making what he was asking her all the harder. Severus frequently did this to her, he and Tom were very alike. A lot of the times, she didn’t even see him at all, embarrassingly enough. She just saw Tom staring back at her. “You’re forty-five?”

“Wow! Really, professor? I thought you were twenty.” Lily gaped, in genuine amazement, clearly just finding this out now. Frankie had the strange feeling, like Tom and Dumbledore, Severus often didn’t tell her all the details.

“You’re sweet to say so, Lilly. I can’t deny that I do look young for my age—”

“So, you really did know the Dark Lord when he was our age? What was he like?” Severus inquired, curiously, getting back to the real questions although he technically started them on this trivial subtopic.

Frankie took a deep calming breath and prepared herself to answer him. The pair leaned in closer in anticipation for her answer. Although, he was a criminal, everyone was desperate learn why this seemingly charming young boy had turned into what he was today. The past of the Dark Lord was only really known by a few powerful wizards like Dumbledore and Slughorn, who protected that information from even the Ministry. Even with the blabbermouth that Slughorn had, he would not dare speak one word about that boy he once knew with just anyone who asked him.

“I knew of him. Even though we were Head Boy and Head Girl together, we lived in completely different worlds. He was a Slytherin and I was a Gryffindor,” Frankie explained, with a rather forced smile. It was a lie. A well-rehearsed, bold face, obvious lie. However, them finding out the truth would be far worse than the lie. No one was allowed to know the Dark Lord was once in love, had once had actual feelings for someone. It was better if the public didn’t see him as a person. Frankie was currently continuing to be locked inside the castle and being kept from the world for a reason. The world just didn’t seem to understand. He was different back then. “I’m sure he couldn’t even stand the sight of me…”

“Are you saying that a Gryffindor and Slytherin can’t be friends?” Lily inquired, with a slightly worried tone. Obviously, she was referring to her and Severus. The two were probably not complete strangers to the same struggles Frankie and Tom had once had to face as two from the warring houses.

“No, no, no, of course they can,” Frankie corrected, quickly. She, of course, of all people did not believe in the house’s inability to become friends. Even though what happened to her and Tom had gone horribly wrong, she still believed it wasn’t always fated to end that way. It didn’t mean it was going to happen to them too. She looked into Lily’s bright green eyes and Severus’s dark ones and couldn’t bare to have them meet a fate like her and Tom. She had to assure them their friendship could last. “In fact, I once knew a pair quite like the two of you. They met in the muggle world, long before school, and were able to forge a friendship not based on house. They loved to read and Slughorn was their favorite teacher.”

“What happened to them?” Severus asked, curiously. Although, he would not show it, like Lily did, he also had his worries about his friendship with her. Historically, their houses were bitter enemies. Most times, Severus probably felt the need to hide his relationship with Lily, like Tom had. However, not only was Lily a Gryffindor, she was muggle-born, so there was double the risk if the Slytherins ever found out. Meanwhile, Lily’s friends probably all knew about the two’s friendship. However, something told Frankie that they weren’t as supportive as her friends had been. They were always glaring at him in the hallways, like he was something disgusting, not worthy of being Lily’s friend.

“They were ripped apart. Their bond apparently wasn’t strong enough to survive this toxic society we live in,” Frankie sighed, gazing out at the clouds once more.  Sometimes she wondered what would’ve happened if her and Tom never came here. Although, she certainly didn’t wish they had never come to Hogwarts, she had to wonder if it was the increase in his abilities that made him turn out this way. To gain more power, one needs to make sacrifices. Magic always comes with a price. Meanwhile, Lily looked all too concerned for a pair she didn’t even know. Surely, society would pull her away from Sev as well. Frankie tried to put on her best smile and calm her worries with sappy words, “Do not fret so much Lily, dear. I’m sure you two will not meet a similar fate.”

“Thank you, professor.” Lily smiled, brightly. Severus seemed mesmerized in her warm, radiant smile. A look Frankie knew all too well because, a long time ago, a boy looked at her smile with the same sort of expression. It was plain to see that he loved her. She just hoped he wouldn’t also completely screw it up.

“Now, I’m going to have to cut our gathering a little short today. Unless you want to be here during the Marauders detention.” Frankie mumbled, adverting her eyes away from their little moment. Not only was she unable to handle the pair for long periods of time, because of their killing resemblance, the quartet of troublemakers were actually scheduled to be coming in any minute.

“No thank you. Come on, Lily. Let’s hurry before—”

It was too late. James Potter stood arrogantly in the doorway with his posse poised behind him. Sirius Black, a boy who was nothing like any Black that Frankie had ever met, considering he was a Gryffindor. He kept with the traditional Black family appearance with his thick dark hair and matching eyes, but it was plain to see he was the outcast of the line. The boy beside him was Remus Lupin. He had short light brown hair and a face that had so many different scars and scratches it always looked like he had just gotten into a big fight. Lastly, Peter Pettigrew was peeking out from the very back. A lump of a boy like his father, but gotten his mousy meek attitude from his mother. Meanwhile, James looks obviously came from his father, but his attitude seemed to come out nowhere. Unlike his father, James was not exactly a kind boy. Frankie had never met Aidan’s wife, Loralette, but surely she didn’t give James this arrogant personality. The auburn haired women with forest green eyes she had seen in various pictures couldn’t even walk. Frankie hardly imagined her to be cruel, despite her circumstances. Regardless of where his demeanor came from, he saw Severus Snape and Lily Evans trying to pass him and smiled rather wickedly at them. They were his favorite victims to torture and were often the butts of a lot of his pranks.

“Come for detention too, Snivellus?” James inquired, with a smug superior grin.

“I’m not like you, Potter. I don’t get detention.” Severus sneered back, defiantly. Normally, he was not so tough, usually. He muttered comebacks and tried to get away. He was a coward. However, with Lily here, he had to appear stronger and braver. He couldn’t look weak in front of her.

“Well, well, fancy seeing you here too, Evans,” James smiled, ignoring Severus’s comeback and turning his attention to her. Like a lot of boys who picked on girls, James’s teasing had turned into feelings for Lily Evans. She stood up for herself and didn’t take any of his crap, and he liked that about her. “When you going to stop hanging around this greasy git and start hanging with us, eh?”

“For you information James, I’d rather hang out with _Severus_ Snape then you any day of the week. I wouldn’t hang out with you creeps, even if you were going to give me a million dollars,” Lily shouted back at him, angrily. She turned away in a huff and grabbed Severus’s hand. “Let’s get out of here, Sev…”

They all watched as she stormed out, not even bothering to even glare her green eyes as she dragged along the sufficiently pleased looking, greasy, hook-nosed boy behind her. James appeared to be letting the insult sink in, while his comrades waited for what his reaction would be. Then he simply smiled,

“She wants me.”

“In your dreams, James. You’d better start saving.” Sirius laughed, slapping his hand sympathetically on his friend’s shoulder. They all started laughing, like good friends normally do. Meanwhile, Frankie just stood there, looking a little exasperated and shocked.

“Honestly, James, what would your father say if you saw treating people like that?” Frankie sighed. Why would he think, based on Lily’s statement, that she liked him whatsoever? It was clear she couldn’t stand him. “You’re nothing like Aidan was.”

“Come on, teach. Don’t be like that. I thought you said we that we were alike.” James reasoned, with a slightly fake-pout. The boy idolized his father and his godfather too much for his own good.

“In appearance and pranks, yes. Attitude, definitely not,” Frankie replied. Aidan certainly never would’ve spoken to her and Tom like that, not even Quin would’ve. He was always a little more mature and responsible. “Even in pranks he was always right-hand man to Quin.”

“My dad used to follow my godfather around, like how Sirius follows me.”

“I don’t follow you.” Sirius protested, punching James in the shoulder. He was certainly James second in command, but he had made it sound like he was some girl that stalked after him all the time.

“It’s okay, Padfoot. I don’t mind it much. It doesn’t change the fact that were best mates,” James grinned at him, putting his arm over his shoulder. He put his other arm around Remus and Peter as well, “We’re all best mates, even Moony and his furry little problem.”

“Would you cut it out, Prongs?” Remus snapped back. He removed himself from the group to sit down at a desk, letting out a heavy sigh as he went. “God, you make it sound like I owned a misbehaved bunny rabbit.”

“You wish it was just a rabbit. You’re a—”

“James, you don’t need to go any further. We’re all aware of Remus’s condition,” Frankie exclaimed, before he could finish. The truth was Remus Lupin was a rather peculiar student to ever attend Hogwarts. It was an awful case of Lycanthropy. All of the teachers were made aware of his condition and most of them treated him differently because of it. They were sympathetic on the outside, however, most were secretly disgusted. The prejudice against werewolves was not surprisingly stronger than something like house prejudice.

Dumbledore was very understanding about it, though. He went to great lengths to ensure Remus’s, as well as everyone else’s, safety. He created a secret passage under the Whomping Willow to the Shrieking Shack for nights Remus transformed and bordered up all the doors and windows on the house itself. Also, secret from even the Ministry, she and Dumbledore had helped turn James, Sirius and Peter into Animagi. So, they could look after him when he turned. Frankie thought it endearing they wanted to go to such great lengths to help their friend. They really accepted him and, despite the occasional eye roll at some of their more idiotic escapades, he was truly happy to have them.

“It’s not your fault, dear.”

“I know, I know. I’ve heard it all before.”

“Alright, fine. I’ll be the one to change the topic then. Where’s my invisibility cloak, teach? I know you have it.” James inquired, rushing over to Slughorn’s desk to interrogate her properly. She had something precious to him and he was very keen on getting it back before his father found out he’d let someone take it from him. Considering, she and his father were rather close, she would most certainly be telling him soon.

“How do you get caught under an invisibility cloak anyway?” Frankie questioned him back, acting slightly smugger. Honestly, she’d been waiting to get into this conversation with him.

“I don’t know, you’re the one who caught us! You tell me.”

“I know that thing better than you do,” she grinned. Which was technically true, considering Aidan’s frequent use of it in his school days and the times he let her borrow it. However, there was also the fact that trying to hide four third year boys under an invisibility cloak was not the easiest thing to accomplish. She also might’ve even had a little more help than that, “I also might’ve found this!”

Frankie had pulled a folded piece of parchment from her robes, in a dramatic fashion, that made all the boys gasp. Even if it didn’t have all four of their nicknames scrawled across it, the bit of parchment was obviously theirs. The print on it was obviously Remus’s fancy script, the pictures were naturally Peter’s work, and the idea and concept were obviously thought up by James and Sirius. At a glance, it seemed like it was just simply a map of the castle. However, on closer examination it was so much more than that. It was a map that showed the location of everyone in the school and all the secret passages. It was obviously something they had been developing this year, so they could make quick getaways and watch out for incoming teachers.

“The Marauder’s Map? How did you get that?”

“You turned it in with this week’s Potions homework, genius.”

“James!” the other boys yelled in unison, casting harsh looks down upon him. Like disapproving parents, they only used each other’s real names when one of them was in real trouble or had done something unbelievably stupid. If any other professor had gotten a hold of that map, other than Frankie, they probably could’ve been expelled.

“Sorry,” James apologized, shrugging his shoulders and looking slightly sheepish. “Hey listen, teach. We can’t have anything like this happen again, so can you help us make it so the ink can disappear and reappear? That way if someone picks it up again, it’ll just be a blank piece of parchment.”

“I’m surprised you actually managed to make this thing at all. It’s fairly impressive for students your age. However, I don’t think I should allow you to keep it. It could be a very dangerous—” They were all giving her an expression that questioned her seriousness. They obviously had no intention of listening to her whatsoever, so she caved and decided to just give them what they wanted. “Fine, I do know of a spell. It’ll require you input commands, certain phrases to make the ink disappear and reappear.”

“We’ll come up with something good and get back to you, teach.” James winked back, mischievously. Frankie let out yet another sigh, wondering what she was getting herself into once again. It felt like when she was not stopping their escapades, she was helping them. Honestly, those boys caused her constant mischief that could not be managed.

“Can we go now, professor? You know we’re not going to learn our lesson by sitting her for two hours.” Sirius groaned, faceplanting into the wooden desk he was sitting at, apparently in a state of utter boredom. The other three boys nodded in agreement, also feeling they shouldn’t have to suffer through something like this.

“It’s only been like a half hour, Sirius. It’s meant to be a punishment,” Frankie answered, sternly. She had already bent the rules enough for one day. She needed to start standing her ground with them at least a little bit.

Then, suddenly, something blood red flashed by the window and any backbone she had been growing was instantly shattered. She got rather clammy and nervous, instantly changed her mind about having the Marauders stay for the full amount of time they were sentenced. Now, they had to leave. Something was trying to get in and, when it eventually did, they couldn’t be there. “Alright, run along up to your common room, all of you. Don’t let the other professors see you. Quickly, before I change my mind.”

 “You’re the coolest, teach! You know that?” James grinned back at her, as they all cheered in victory and scurried back for the door to the classroom.

Frankie allowed herself to smile softly at the boy’s misguided admiration of her.  She always liked how James always called her ‘teach’ it always made her feel like a real teacher, even though she wasn’t one. She would have to remind herself later to send a letter to Aidan, telling him all about it, bragging a little on how his son found her to be more awesome. However, unfortunately, now she had another letter she needed to face. Frankie slowly opened the window, letting a blood splattered crane fly gracefully into her open palms. It wasn’t hard to guess who it was from. However, instead of opening it with excitement and ferocity she used too, she merely stared at. She knew there was nothing inside. He didn’t use words anymore. He used it as a mere symbol, to taunt her and toy with the emotions he had left her with.

“Another love letter from Tom?”

She did not even have to turn. Only one person would dare to say such a wretched thing to her, knowing she was incapable of truly hating the man who still continued to stand in her parents place, even though she was a fully grown, adult witch by now. However, naturally after lying to her for so many years they grew a very strained relationship. She allowed herself to talk to him in a blunter and angrier tone, when he obviously deserved it instead of just simply agreeing. She finally saw what Tom had found so irritating about him, but it’s not exactly like he was around to sympathize with her anymore. Why was she forced to deal with such frustrating men?

“Do not tease me, Dumbledore. It hurts too much.”

“And yet you continue to always open the window…”

“I can’t help myself,” Frankie muttered, quietly. It was embarrassingly still a problem. She’d hoped by now to have forgotten all about that boy, but it seemed that it was utterly impossible. Sometimes she’d hear mysterious whistling late at night when she was patrolling the corridors, or the sound of footsteps clicking on the cobblestone floor. Things that were so trivial, not even remotely Tom related, and she’d hope. “and _he_ knows that…”

“He knows your heart to well,” Dumbledore replied. “It is my fault. I ignored the obvious signs of his turning and lied to you for all those years.”

“Even if you had intervened more, it probably wouldn’t have stopped us. He may have been wicked at heart, but I know he really did love me.” Frankie answered, allowing herself to be overtaken by the good memories she always pushed back and truly smile a little.

“He still does.” Dumbledore reasoned. In her younger years, she would’ve smiled and agreed Tom was of course still in love with her. However, she was smarter than that now. Frankie actually slightly scoffed at his endearing statement, obviously unconvinced.

“Real funny way of showing it lately,” she muttered, staring intently at the crane on the desk. Was this honestly supposed to be an expression of his love? It was sick. He had taken something that had been so precious to them and destroyed it. “Whatever it is he thinks he feels for me, he’s wrong. That man is incapable of loving anything now. Let alone me...”

“Have you finally come to hate him? You’re speaking about him with such detest in your voice.” he questioned. Frankie paused at the question. She didn’t realize the change in her tone, but she was speaking about him so bitterly. However, hating Tom? That notion for some reason seemed unbearable.

“I don’t know what I’m feeling anymore...”

“I came here because I had two things I wished to ask you,” Dumbledore stated. “However, based on your answer, I’m not sure if you want to hear the next one.”

“Just ask me, Dumbledore. I’m not in the mood for anymore games.” Frankie snapped, irritably.

“I’m building an army,” he replied. Frankie’s expression instantly panicked. The last time she’d heard that Tom was telling her the truth about him and jumping off the Astronomy Tower. Dumbledore couldn’t be serious about going rough and becoming a dark wizard too. Noticing her panic, he realized he needed to re-phrase his statement, “It’s more of an organization, really. One that will strive to defeat Tom’s reign of terror, before it gets even further out of control. The Order of the Phoenix.”

“And you want me to join?” she questioned. It was a ridiculous sounding idea, to have her join an order to stop Voldemort. Quin and Aidan, the Aurors, who’d never trusted him from the start, maybe. She, however, felt she was not exactly the type to be fighting against him.

“You’re the one person in this world who actually knows him. You most certainly hold some key information into bringing him down.”

“I know Tom. Voldemort is a complete mystery to me. I know they are the same man, yet why do they seem so different?” Frankie argued, with yet another wallowing sigh. She only knew about Voldemort from what she read in paper, other than the cranes. She was well protected from him in the castle. Nowadays, he was a power-hungry, sadistic madman, hell bent on world domination and the obliteration of Mudbloods and muggles. Sure, Tom was a bit of a sociopathic and angry boy in his day, but he wasn’t the homicidal maniac the papers made Voldemort out to be, “Tom would’ve never done this.”

“I know he wouldn’t have, but the fact of the matter is that he did and is now fully intent on taking over the ministry and ruling the wizarding world,” Dumbledore added. He put his wrinkling hand on her shoulder, to try and comfort her. “You know I do not believe that Tom is completely gone. Don’t argue, my dear. I know you’ve had this thought as well. That boy is still in there somewhere.”

“It’s a lovely theory, Dumbledore, and I admit I’ve always wished for that to be the case. However, it doesn’t make true,” Frankie argued. It was even crazier than the whole Order of the Phoenix idea. Changing Tom back to his old self, surely wasn’t possible at this point. “He’s—”

“But you see as much as Voldemort wishes to erase the existence of the boy he once was he never will be able to get rid of him completely. He can’t erase who he is,” he insisted. “I believe you can bring him back to his senses and make him feel true remorse over his actions.”

“Really? Doesn’t that idea go against your new order?” she inquired, curiously. He was obviously planning on gathering a mixture of people who once knew him and powerful witches and wizards, all of them with the sole purpose of taking him down. Frankie doubted anyone would join this little army if they thought Dumbledore was trying to save the boy.

“It can be a little secret. It’s not like they aren’t already going to question our allegiance anyway.” It was true. The closest people to him they were already going to be the most suspicious characters.

“There’s no guarantee it’ll work.”

“I know. It can’t hurt to try, though.”

“I’m going to have to kill him, aren’t I?” she asked, seriously and logically. Frankie was thinking about the situation with Tom with practicality. Not just anyone could kill Voldemort, there was only one person in this world who had the power to stop him. And that person just had to be her. “That’s why you were hoping I’d tell you I hated him.”

“I still believe he can change back. It’s not too late.” Dumbledore added, simply, not wanting to acknowledge her statement. His not-so-little girl anymore was talking about killing the man he knew deep down she still loved.

“I don’t know about being able to bring him back, but I do know that it’s going to come down to him and me in the end. I’m going to be the one who has to take him out before he takes over this world,” Frankie stated, with a strong, defiant glare. She was going to have to play the part as a strong soldier in Dumbledore’s new army, might as well start now. “I’ll join the order.”

“Thank you, my dear,” Dumbledore remarked. He turned to leave, all his business with her being taken care of. However, he lingered in the doorway for another moment, “I’m sorry it has come to this…”

He left her with his condolences, while Frankie returned to the Slughorn’s desk chair and curled up in the plush emerald velvet, like an enormous roly poly. It probably would’ve been better for her to return to her room, but she really didn’t feel like she had the strength to make it there. Exactly, how old did she need to be before she was allowed to look back on her life with nothing but regrets? Forty-five felt a little too young. Her mind was jumbled with questions she probably should’ve shared with Dumbledore. Questions about the order, or how exactly she was supposed to change Tom back to his old self. If it were as easy as just talking to him, he would’ve listened to her that night on the Astronomy Tower and none of this would be happening. Then, there was what she had said. She had pretty much just vowed she was going to kill Tom. Sure, it wouldn’t be considered murder because he was a villain and it wasn’t like she was planning on doing something as immoral as making a Horcrux with his corpse. She would remain a hero. However, she wondered, was she really capable of doing something like that? Dumbledore really was right about her, like usual. Her feelings weren’t quite dead yet and she really didn’t want to be the one that had to kill him.


	64. The Loon and Her Prophecy

Now, that an army had been created to fight against Voldemort, the wizarding world was now officially at war. The Death Eaters, along with his other lowly minions not worthy of the name, were soon scattered everywhere. They were out in the open at last, finally able to stop hiding mostly in the shadows. They saw immense pride in this, which made Voldemort slightly proud of the army he had created. Idiots though they were, he had created something grand. Primarily his Death Eaters had the freedom to go wherever as long as they were upholding their values. Looking for Mudbloods to destroy, along with anyone else who got in their way, recruiting Purebloods to join them, and killing muggles just for fun. Every little thing was going according to Voldemort’s plan and soon he would finally have everything he ever wanted. Well, everything except for _her_. Frankie was further away from him as ever. She was even a member of Dumbledore’s little army to fight against him, apparently. Voldemort had just been coming back from recruiting abroad, beginning to take larger steps in his plans and further expand his army across the nation, when he had gotten word that _she_ had actually been spotted in a battle. Abraxas and his foolish son, Lucius, had started a small fight with a few of the blood traitors and Mudbloods who were in Dumbledore’s army while he was away, which was all fine and good. They could do as they pleased, he couldn’t have cared less about some silly little fight. However, Abraxas naturally noticed the familiar hazel hair, even in the heat and chaos of a battle. She looked the same even now, apparently.

Voldemort had told all his followers to look for a girl with hazel hair and bring her to him, with the simple promise of a big reward for whoever could bring forth the right one. No questions asked. They probably all thought she was just a certain Mudblood he wanted to kill himself, or something stupidly trivial like that. Only his closest knew exactly which girl he wanted. However, they did not dare ask questions of why he wanted her even now. Nor did they dare tell of the connection to anyone else, unless they wanted to be killed themselves. Abraxas brought him the information, dutifully, but he claimed he was unable to capture her. She’s still too well protected even now. Normally, he would’ve found that a pitiful excuse, but the abnormality about her appearance caught his attention. Malfoy claimed she looked as though she hadn’t aged a day past twenty and yet the only one who wasn’t supposed to be aging in this world was him. He found that rather curious, so Malfoy was not punished. What was that old man using to retain her youth? Certainly, it was something of his doing. He was plotting something with her. Dumbledore would only allow his precious, faux daughter participate in the fighting if he was secretly planning on using her to take him down. He was probably thinking she was his greatest weapon in defeating him, which actually wasn’t the worst thought the old man had ever had. However, that still didn’t mean it was going to work. If anything, he was actually handing her right to him. Now, that she was out there somewhere, he knew he could convince her to see things his way. All he had to do was find her.

It was a cold night in early January of 1980 and James and Lily Potter were trudging through the snow towards a town in the distance. Sirius never was so good at directions and they couldn’t Apparate, for certain reasons. It was a town called Little Hangleton, a small muggle town apparently Voldemort wouldn’t dare to set foot in. They were supposed to be looking for a quaint little inn, with no name, but apparently it was the only inn in town and it was not capable of being missed. What business exactly did they have there? Despite the wizarding world being in utter chaos, a new year had arrived and they were headed off to yet another meeting of the Order of the Phoenix.

“Isn’t this great, Lily, darling? It’s the first order meeting we’ve been able to make in a while.” James exclaimed, letting some of his old, supposedly reformed, childish nature shine through a bit. He was understandably excited at the aspect of seeing his most of his old friends and getting back into action again. The two had been forced to take a leave of absence from the fighting for a while, but they were eager to still be well informed and feel like they were a part of something.

“Yes, it’s nice not to be running away from Death Eaters, for once. When I think of the countless times a spell could’ve hit _You-Know-Who_ —”

“Stop calling him that,” James snapped back at her, knowing when his wife said that she wasn’t talking about Voldemort. Lily liked to tease him, so she called it that every time. Their unborn child would eventually be born into this hopeless world and she personally found the temporary name very ironic and fitting for the circumstances. The fact that it annoyed James was simply a bonus. “I don’t want my future son to be associated with _him_ in anyway.”

“Son? How do you know it’s going to be a boy?” Lily questioned, crossing her arms and sounding skeptic.

“You’re giving me a son, Evans. Didn’t you listen to the magic stone that old street merchant in Diagon Alley gave us?”

“That woman was a nutjob and I’m pretty sure she gave us a kidney stone.”

Before he could come up with another witty comeback, Lily was knocking three times on a door in front of them. Apparently, in the midst of their talking, they had arrived on the doorstep of their destination. The door creaked open slightly and, expecting to have to answer security questions, they readied themselves mentally. However, the door flew open, revealing Frankie was the one who had been guarding it. She didn’t believe in paranoid question asking. It was a waste of time and the creator of distrust, in her opinion.

“Lily, James! I’m so glad to see you.” Frankie grinned, giving them both quick welcoming hugs. Her warm aura was refreshing, considering the cold and the fact they were about to enter a room of not-so-cheery, serious, sad sacks and start talking about the end of the world as they knew it.

“Frankie! How’s everything up at the school?” Lily smiled back. Although, technically out of the shadows, she still spent most of her time at the school with Dumbledore.

“Everything is doing fine. Minerva is currently keeping security in place for the students who are staying at school for the holiday break. Hagrid and Slughorn are still there too.”

“How is Slughorn? I haven’t seen him since graduation.”

“Slughorn’s grown a bit frazzled nowadays. He’s worried To—I mean,—You-Know-Who and the Death Eaters are trying to recruit him.” Frankie replied, stumbling a bit. Even now, she sometimes almost dared to call his real name. Not his new name everyone feared to call him. The one only she feared to call him. James simply looked confused, but Lily expression grew sympathetic.

Frankie had confided in Lily her friendship with the Dark Lord, after her friendship with Severus crumbled. It was in her fifth year, right after the O.W.Ls. She had been sitting with her friends when she had seen James picking on Severus over at the tree by the lake. Naturally, she ran to stand up for him, as any friend would. However, after James had released him on her command, Severus snapped. He even went as far as calling her a Mudblood. She had acted so coolly when she walked away from the idiotic boys, acting like she was not so bothered. However, the second she arrived to the greenhouses, where Frankie was subbing at the time, she broke down in tears. Lily was a strong girl, but not that strong. Not strong enough to take her best friend calling her something so wretched and horrible, having his voice filled with distain. Frankie felt she had no choice, but to tell her that the friendship she often spoke of, that she thought had been similar to her and Severus’s, was actually between her and Voldemort. It comforted Lily, reminded her that this was the fate of all Slytherin and Gryffindors, and from that day on she treated him accordingly. He desperately tried to apologize, but she wouldn’t forgive him so easily. The sadness had turned into bitterness and yet another friendship had been destroyed.

“Give him my bests when you see him later, will you?” Lily inquired.

“Of course,” Frankie smiled, replacing her momentarily faltering expression. “So what have you two been up too lately? You weren’t at the last few meetings.”

“Oh yeah. Big news…” he paused, dramatically, to make her wait in anticipation. James Potter was an epic drama queen, “Lily is pregnant!”

“Congratulations, you two! I’m so happy for you.” Frankie shrieked, immediately, giving Lily a stronger more lasting hug this time. It was certainly the best news she had gotten in a while, what with the state of things. Although, Lilly wasn’t certainly the only one bringing life into such a dark world. Alice Longbottom had also just announced her pregnancy as well and Molly Weasley seemed to be popping out babies every month or so, her newest addition to be due in March.

So far the Weasley’s included, a nine year old, Bill, a seven year old, Charlie, a three year old, Percy, and the most recent being a set of troublesome twins, Fred and George. Frankie often got stuck looking after them during meetings at their house in Ottery St Catchpole, Molly wanting to make sure they were well protected and Frankie wanting to be anywhere else but the meetings. She secretly detested them. The meetings, not the children. The children, for the most part, were lovely. Bill tended to wander off easily, which was not the greatest aspect when there was a bloody war going on. He liked adventures and giving Frankie heart attacks every single time she came over to watch them. Although, sometimes he would be rather sweet, tell her not to worry and swore to her that he would take down Voldemort for her the second he received his wand. Charlie was not much different, just as wild and bold. However, she had found an easy way to subdue him from adventuring. He adored it when Frankie brought all her different books on magical creatures. She often talked about the ones at Hogwarts, while he’d sit in her lap and flip through the pictures of dragons and unicorns in amazement. Only seven and he was already set on working with magical creatures the rest of his life. Percy on the other hand didn’t need quieting or tricks to get him to behave. He simply did as he was told, never cried or made a fuss. He was only three, but hopefully his quiet demeanor would last at least a few more years. Lastly, the twins. There was much to say about them and they were only a little over a year old. She completely understood Molly and Arthur wanting the break. The lot was a handful, but the twins were specifically trouble. They never went to sleep, threw food supposed to be eaten, yanked Frankie’s hair and tore buttons from her clothes to try and eat instead. Hopefully, the next Weasley would be a girl, or another well-behaved boy like Percy.

“Thanks, teach. Now, we’ve got an important question for you,” James stated, continuing with his normal, drama queen type, mysterious attitude. Frankie snapped out of her thoughts about all the Weasley children to listen again. “Would you like to be a godparent with Sirius?”

“Me? Really, are you sure?” Frankie questioned, frantically. It was just a title with little responsibility and yet it was a huge honor to be asked. One she felt she did not really deserve to take. Frankie would’ve loved to have known her godparents, maybe she wouldn’t have ended up in an orphanage. She only learned recently, after his retirement as Minister of Magic, that McGregor Bane was one of her godparents. They had only met once before at a Slughorn Christmas party, which wasn’t exactly the setting to tell her such news, and thought he would receive a different time to tell her. Which they eventually got, a year after his retirement. He had always assumed that Diana was looking after her. However, if he had known she had to be brought up in an orphanage earlier, he claimed he would’ve taken her in, even with such a busy job. She understood the circumstances and forgave him, but it wouldn’t change the fact he was not present in her life. Her godchild would never have to worry about that. She would do her best to always be there.

“Of course, we are. You’ve helped us more than anyone. I don’t see why you weren’t my godmother,” James replied, clearly thinking she was the obvious choice after everything. “You handled me more often and, quite honestly, better than my own parents did.”

“Please, Frankie. It’s not a big deal.” Lily pleaded. Frankie thought about it for just a moment…

“Alright, then. I’ll do it.” she agreed. When she thought about it, even if she wasn’t the baby’s godmother, she would be there for it anyway. Lily and James were precious to her and she wanted to help them in any way that she could.

“Yes! One down, one to go,” James cheered, fist bumping the air in victory. “Now, we just got to go ask Padfoot. Is he here yet?”

“I don’t know exactly who’s here. You two were the only ones who I was asked to watch for at the door. Everyone else Apparated.” Frankie explained.

“Let’s go then!” James exclaimed, excitedly pulling Lily along, despite not having a clue where they were going. Realizing that minor detail a second later, he let Frankie pass by them to lead the way.

“When are you due anyway, Lily?” Frankie asked, casually, as they began walking down the hall.

“Sometime around the end of July.” Lily grinned. Frankie and James couldn’t help but smile as well. Lily Evans had that kind of smile that you could help but smile along with. She was properly happy, with James Potter’s child of all things. If you had told not so younger Lily that someday she’d be the loving wife of James Potter, she probably would’ve laughed in your face or screamed for five minutes straight.

Frankie opened the door to a room full of people. It would’ve looked like a small party, if a lot of the patrons didn’t look tired and stressed. They were all about to enter, when Frankie eyes locked onto a group standing several feet away and her feet got glued to the floor. There was a certain group of people, with a different air then all the rest. When you spent seven years with a group of people they all seemed to just be bolded among the blur of the rest. All the Gryffindors, plus Ellyn and Peter stood making a few feet away, making casual chatter without her. Being cooped up in the castle, she hadn’t even seen most of them since graduation. She was incredibly happy, but the feeling was having trouble registering to her face after all the unhappiness she had to endure nowadays. She couldn’t remember the last time she had felt this way, other than a few minutes ago, given the current circumstances of her life. Today was just a storm of happiness. Finally, she regained the ability to walk and slowly began to walk closer to them. Unfortunately, although not aged, her knees gave out not even halfway and she started to crumble to the ground. Luckily, Quin had been there to catch her.

“Clumsy as ever, I see.” he grinned, with a charming casualness, as if he were the same charming seventeen year old boy he’d once been again. However, although he acted so coolly, it certainly must’ve actually taken effort to be there to catch her. He must’ve noticed her the second she walked into the room and already had been running to see her.

“What’re you all doing here?” Frankie asked, remaining in Quin’s arms and slightly on the ground. She couldn’t move. It felt like someone had cast a Jelly Legs Jinx on her legs and if she were to get up now she’d just topple over again. She also had a bit of a desperate need to keep holding on to him, worrying about the consequences if she let go. It was exactly the same feeling when she had seen Tom after all those years. If she let him go, they’d all disappear.

“Dumbledore called. The orders numbers are depleting, so he called in the reinforcements, which is apparently us old timers.” Aidan answered. Frankie looked up to find her generation’s version of the Marauders had appeared and were standing beside him. Aidan and Ethan were smiling down at her from either side of Quin, both offering hands to help her up.

“Old? Speak for yourself, Aidan. I’m not old.” Quin added, hoisting Frankie back to her feet by himself to prove is point. The three walked her over to the group with everyone else. Dylan, Bina, Sarah, Katy, Paul, Elric, Ellyn and Peter all stood huddled in conversation. They really didn’t seem all that old. Certainly, not to her extent, but still. Other than a few wrinkles and greying hairs, they were all the same people, “Speaking of not old, look at you. You look exactly the same as the last time we saw you.”

“It’s almost unsettling. Are you sure you’re Frankie and not her daughter?” Aidan remarked.

“Who exactly would I have had a child with?” Frankie questioned, a bit defensively. No one said a thing, but she all knew what they were thinking. She could’ve given birth to _that_ man’s child, yet another hell spawn in the Gaunt and Riddle line. Keep it a secret from the world because she was so ashamed. They didn’t know exactly how she and Tom’s relationship had ended, they just knew that it did. Having that man’s child was a perfectly possible possibility. Frankie sighed and dropped the defensive question that wasn’t intended on being answered. “I’d like to tell you why I look like this, but I’m afraid that’s confidential information between myself, Dumbledore and Nicholas Flamel.”

“I suppose it makes sense. You-Know-Who probably won’t like you anymore if you’re an old woman.” Quin responded, inconsiderately. Frankie glared at him a little for his tactless comment, but instantly forced herself to be calm and happy again. She didn’t want to fight with him, or any of them. Not after she had finally gotten them all back.

“I still can’t believe you’re all here,” Frankie remarked, choosing to completely ignore Quin’s insensitive comment and just change topics. “I’m so sorry I haven’t visited, or written letters, or—”

“Relax, Frankie. We understand.” Dylan replied, with a small sympathetic smile.

“We’re the ones who are sorry.” Sarah added.

“Yeah, we weren’t there for you when, you know…” Bina remarked.

“We’re sorry Tom did this—”

“Please. Don’t.” She didn’t want their apologies, or their pity. Not now, after all this time. If she had wanted several shoulders to cry on, she would’ve told them exactly what happened, when it had happened. It was too late for all that now, though. “I’m fine. I promise.”

“I’m here too with my pregnant wife, Dad.” James interjected, him and Lily having been pushed to the side by the reunion of old friends. The group did not turn to address them, not even for a second, “Not like it really matters, I guess. Come on, Lily. Let’s go find the Marauders.”

“Dylan, I thought your husband wasn’t interested in the fight. Didn’t Dumbledore actually ask you to join years ago?” Frankie questioned. Dylan had unexpectedly and very suddenly had gotten married a naturalist named Norman Lovegood, many years ago. Frankie didn’t actually get to meet him, considering it happened sometime around 56’ and she didn’t invite anyone to the wedding, but Dylan wrote her a letter.

“He didn’t want to fight and I did, which caused us to fight. The end result being we got divorced. I’m not going to be married to a scared little boy who’s just going to sit on his arse and do nothing when the world is taking action,” Dylan explained, her normal expression growing hardened and stiff. Frankie could tell it was something she really didn’t want to talk about, especially in front of everyone. “Xeno is all grown up anyway. We didn’t need to stay together anymore.” 

“Dylan—” Aidan had started, comforting hand to put on her shoulder at the ready, but she swiped it away immediately.

“Don’t you dare talk down on me with that pitying tone, Aidan.” Dylan snapped, cutting off what he was going to say, knowing it was going to be something endearing and kind. Her rage seemed a little unnecessary, but to her it made perfect sense. Aidan was her first love and she had fallen for that unparalleled kindness he exuded before. If she let him treat her with kindness now, she’d end up falling for him again, even though many years had passed. Since Quin and Frankie had not worked out, naturally, they had been ripe to take the role of Gryffindor sweethearts. It had always seemed like they were going to get together sometime during their school days, but for some reason they never did. Although, they both had become Aurors and still were together constantly, Aidan soon met the lovely secretary to the minister, Loralette Greenback. They were married only five months later and Dylan literally just disappeared. She was just seen as one of the many mysterious disappearances that were happening at around that time, which no one knew was actually Voldemort recruiting. However, she suddenly turned up a couple years later with a husband and a baby boy named Xenophilius.

However, nowadays, Aidan was not the one to just back away because she told him to. His days as an Auror had helped with that. He pulled her away from the group to over by the far wall, so they could talk without the ears and prying eyes of their friends. Meanwhile, the group tried to keep their eyes adverted, in respect for their privacy, and keep talking on without them. However, the temptation was all too much. But, then Frankie eyes were forcibly removed from the dramatic scene, after she was tapped on the shoulder by Dumbledore.

“Frankie, there’s someone I’d like you to meet before we start,” he remarked, already starting to guide her away from her friends. She pouted, understandably. She wanted more time with them. However, she obediently obeyed him, like usual, since he was the one who had called them all there in the first place and she was extremely grateful for it. “Now, tell me, did Tom happen to ever mention any of his adventures here in Little Hangleton?”

“Not really. Why? Is it important?” Frankie asked, even though she knew he wouldn’t bother to bring it up if it wasn’t somewhat important. Whoever he was about to introduce her to surely must’ve had knowledge that was going to help her better understand the parts she didn’t know about Tom, the Voldemort parts.

“I’m not sure, but I suggest you start questioning her about it,” Dumbledore replied, simply. He pointed to a very gaunt and pitiful woman with straggly greying-ginger hair standing by the window. Her faded blue eyes were dazed with large heavy bags under them, “Her name is Marjorie Prewett. She’s Alice’s cousin and the owner of this inn. It recently came to my attention that Tom actually stayed at this inn during his time here and not at his uncle and grandfather’s house.”

“And you think that’s cause for alarm?”

“Maybe, maybe not. In any case, she’s someone who knew him. I think she’d like to talk you.”

Frankie sighed and reluctantly made her way over to the woman Dumbledore had pointed out. She was staring at the ground, looking like an old marionette doll without a controller. Frankie tried to take in her features and determine her age. She had to be at least as old as she was, however, her sunken face seemed so much older.

“Hello, I’m—”

“Jam!” Marjorie shouted, immediately, popping upright with an uneasy chuckle.

“Cuter name, but sadly not. I’m Frankie—”

“It’s you, it’s you…”Marjorie muttered, abruptly cupping Frankie’s face in her palms. Her expression could not be read. It was like one side of her was happy, another was sad, and another was furious. Not wanting to cause a further stir of the slightly senile woman, Frankie stayed completely still. Hopefully, she would explain herself and let go of her face. “The one with the pretty penmanship and a dumb bird.”

“Twilit…You remember Twilit?” Frankie gasped, removing her face from the woman’s grasp. She must’ve remembered the letters she sent to Tom that summer. “What about Tom? Did you know him?”

“Sometimes I see his face in the mirror, but I know he’s not there.” Marjorie muttered, pointing at a spot in the crowd where a mirror probably must’ve been at some point in time.

“I know the feeling...” Frankie sighed, ruefully. It was slightly different than being crazy, though. Sometimes, late at night, she would sneak into the unused classroom where the Mirror of Erised and sat to gaze at it for hours. It always made her feel awful and guilty, but she did it anyway. When Frankie had previously looked into the mirror, she used to see four people standing alongside her. Her mother, father, sister and Tom. However, only one of those people remained now. It wasn’t hard to guess who. That mirror was the only place they could be together again. That’s why she kept coming back, “What happened? What did he do to you?”

“He left me with Amy in the forest. She never woke up.”

“Amy Benson?” It was the only Amy that they had known, unless Tom had met another one here and never bothered to tell her. However, there wasn’t a forest here. She was trying to make sense out of the mad woman’s rambling without any success.

“He killed her. He killed Riddles. He killed everyone.”

“Not yet he hasn’t…” Frankie added. Marjorie probably knew very little about the Voldemort movement, her mind not being able to retain any new information for long. Or perhaps she knew more than anyone exactly how Tom became that man. “Marjorie—”

“Would you like to see his room? It was room number seven.” Marjorie asked, suddenly. Frankie nodded silently and let Marjorie lead the way there. They went upstairs and down the hall to a room with a faded seven written on the door. Frankie turned the knob to find a normal room, she didn’t know why she was expecting it not to be. A bed sitting cozily along the left wall, an old chair placed facing the dusty window. Frankie was drawn to that chair. For some reason she could see him sitting there, waiting. She opened the window and sat in the chair, trying to imagine what he would sit there and think about while he soaked in the cool summer breeze. Maybe he would think about what he was going to say to his grandfather and uncle, or be mentally be planning out his day.

“Are you waiting for another letter, Tom?” Marjorie asked, suddenly, looking rather disheartened. Frankie’s heart slightly sank as well, realizing Marjorie was being blinded by a memory and wasn’t actually addressing her. In her mind, she was talking to a sixteen year old Tom, the boy she had known a long time ago. She also had known why he sat in that chair. He sat there waiting for letters from a girl Marjorie did not know. Apparently, the only one allowed to be in his affections. Although it was many years ago, and they had no shortage of the amount of words they’d written to each other, Frankie suddenly found herself regretting not sending him more letters. She felt bad about making him wait.

“I’m sure that dumb bird of hers will be a long shortly.” Frankie replied, playing along, even trying to mimic Tom’s speech a little.

“You’re in love with her, aren’t you?” Marjorie added, letting out a somber sigh. It really had been so obvious to most everyone, but her. Yet that wasn’t what made her swivel around in surprise. Frankie unexpectedly found herself a little irritated by Marjorie’s inquiry. It wasn’t because of the way she had said it in such a depressed tone of a heartbroken girl. It was because she saw Frankie as Tom in this moment. And the look on her face was one of someone in love.

“I’m going back to my friends,” Frankie stated, suddenly, rushing out of the chair. She couldn’t take any more than this. It didn’t matter that Marjorie could possibly have keen information, if she didn’t get out now, it’d be too late. Every time more of these memories were dredged up, the feelings came up with them as well. Joy, happiness, love. She couldn’t feel those things, especially not for him, if she ever hoped to beat him. “Thank you, Marjorie. But I’ve had enough.”

Frankie ran back to the meeting room without caution. No knocking on the door, or waiting to answer security questions. She just burst in. Thankfully, people were once again drifting around in groups and she went unnoticed. The meeting had ended and people were now discussing about how they were going to safely get out. Frankie ran right into a familiar someone’s back and just stuck there, mentally yelling at herself to lift her head up again, but unable to do so for some  odd reason.

“Frankie? You okay?”

Quin was looking over his shoulder at the girl who was trying to indent herself into his spine.

She had consciously run right to Quin, knowing he would not push her away or tell her lies to try and comfort her. Frankie remembered he had asked her the same thing when she was curled up on the ground crying because she thought Tom hated her. He asked her if she was okay. It was the moment she thought really enticed her to say yes to him. That if he hadn’t found her out there she might’ve just acted like everything was normal, until Tom confessed to her at Slughorn’s Christmas party. However, she was wrong to think it had been so simple. Although, Quin had the tendency to say the wrong thing at the wrong time, he was a much kinder person then Tom. He always put her feelings in front of his own and made sure she was having fun. Tom may have been there for her in the lowest moments in her life, but when he was the cause of them…

“No…” Frankie wasn’t going to be too overdramatic about it this time, clinging to him like a spoiled child was already bad enough. She just needed a moment.

“Alright, then. I won’t try to understand what happened to you in the last hour to make you like this.” Quin replied, calmly. With permission, she gave up all mental resistance and further crumbled into his back, a spine that had invited age and strain. He had a warm and welcoming presence. She soaked it in. It made her remember when she was like that too.

“I’m sorry.”

“I know…”

_“I hate to interrupt…”_

Frankie jumped up to see Dumbledore standing beside them, looking apparently neutral. However, knowing him better, she saw a sliver of disappointment in his blue eyes. It wasn’t because she was in a bit of a compromising position with Quin, necessarily. It was because she was supposed to be stronger than that. She wasn’t supposed to break down and let her emotions get the better of her, “Frankie and I have another engagement to get too, now.”

“We’ll talk. Won’t we?” Quin inquired, turning to face her.

“Yes…” Frankie whispered, clasping his hands in hers and squeezing them tightly. She was silently telling him she did not want to let him go, “I promise.”

A few minutes later, after Frankie reluctantly was forced to say goodbye to the rest of her friends, she and Dumbledore were standing in the cold and snow of Hogsmeade. Frankie followed after him with a bitter expression as Dumbledore led her somewhere new.

“You missed the meeting. Did she say anything useful?” Dumbledore asked, as they started to trudge forward in the blistering streets.

“Not really…” Frankie replied, purposely not choosing to articulate on what had happened with Marjorie. She felt ashamed for the second she let her guard on her feelings falter, the moment she let herself love him again. Dumbledore was already suspicious, and probably had already figured it out, but she didn’t want to get into a conversation with him. “Did he do that to her? Was he the one that made her so unhinged?”

“We may never know.”

“Extract her memories. Find out. It could be something worth knowing.”

“Marjorie has to either give me consent to take them, or pull them out herself. And something tells me she isn’t well enough to do either,” Dumbledore explained, softly, to combat Frankie’s harsh rashness. “Come along, dear. Best not to dawdle on a lost cause. We’ve got other business to attend to…”

After a little more walking, they had arrived at the door of the Hogshead inn. Frankie looked confused, considering he had not told her where they were going and the place they had arrived to was an odd one. Although, it was a general meeting spot of the order, things were still not exactly well between the Dumbledore brothers. Even after all this time and Grindlewald’s incarceration for life, he still didn’t like Albus coming in, and contrary, Albus wasn’t fond of visiting the grimy pub either.

“Is Abe having trouble or something? Why are we here?” Frankie questioned, staring at the door, puzzled.

“It’s about the new Divination teacher. I keep telling this woman, Sibyll Trelawney, politely that she is not right for the position. But she is very persistent to prove me wrong,” he replied, with a somber sigh. Taking in Dumbledore’s uncomfortable expression, Frankie could already tell he was not fond of whoever this woman was, “She called me out here and I would like to calmly tell her the position has been filled by you.”

“It hasn’t though. I’m not one of those who possess the power of sight. My sister and my mum were the ones with ‘All-Seeing-Eyes’.” Frankie added, clearly not getting the fact that it was supposed to be a lie. “Maybe, you should get Alastor to teach it.”

“Alastor would never want to become a teacher. Not to mention he’d frighten the students half to death,” Dumbledore answered, with a small chuckle, probably imagining Professor Mad-Eye Moody. A terrifying teacher indeed. “It is just a small white lie for now, dear. Honestly, I’ll probably end up cutting the subject entirely. Hardly anyone takes it…”

They entered the pub to find it surprisingly crowded with bar bums, like a normal pub. The place was basked in a warm orange glow, with loud hearty chuckles and jolly upbeat music filling up any space. Aberforth noticed them enter from behind the counter and gave Frankie an acknowledging nod, and his brother and acknowledging scowl. They quickly went up the staircases, before Aberforth could change his mind about letting his brother in, and entered the third room on the left. Inside sat an incredibly thin woman whose curly ginger hair was just one big poof, slightly hunched over, muttering to herself in a soft voice. She was dressed rather gaudy, like some kind of gypsy, covered in different shawls and bangles of different colors. The woman examined their arrival from behind giant spectacles that made her eyes look like insect’s eyes.

“Thank you for meeting me here, Dumbledore.” she smiled, getting up to shake his hand as he approached her.

“Well, you said you would like the chance to prove your skills and I am eager to see what you can do, Sibyll.”

“Let us sit down and have a cup of tea. Then, I shall start showing you my skills by reading the leaves for you.”

“I’m sure I’ll have the Dark Mark in mine.” Frankie joked, whispering in Dumbledore’s ear before they sat down. He actually chuckled softly at her cruel sense of humor, while Trelawney seemed to be noticing Frankie the very first time.

“Who is your associate, Dumbledore?” Trelawney questioned, examining her with her buggish eyes. “She has a very troubled aura.”

“This is Frankie Dickson and she is also a contender for the Divination job.” Dumbledore answered, simply. She glared at Frankie with newfound dislike, realizing she could be a threat to getting what she wanted. Jobs were scarce in the world right now and this one had good pay and maximum security against the Dark Lord. Who wouldn’t want to claw someone’s eyes out for a job like that?

“I was not aware you would be bringing competition. However, the great-great granddaughter of Cassandra Trelawney will not back down!”

Trelawney poured the tea and they all began to sip the tea from their cups in silence, until they had nothing but the leaves left at the bottom. The three stared down at their cups and each got quite a nasty omen reflected back at them.

“Wow, and I was just joking…” Frankie added, staring down at her cup expressionless. It really was his mark sitting in her cup. The leaves had actually formed a terrifying skull with a snake slithering out of it’s mouth.

“Very odd, his symbol is not one that should appear in old rituals such as this. Therefore, I don’t know how to interpret what this means exactly,” Trelawney replied, trying to sound all mystic and ominous despite not actually knowing what it meant, “However, I believe it to mean, that you are fated to join him…”

“He wishes…” Frankie mumbled, bitterly. Trelawney looked at her for a second, obviously bewildered she’d make such a bold remark about the most powerful dark wizard in the world. Meanwhile, Dumbledore was laughing to himself again.

“Of course,” Trelawney added, probably choosing not to have heard what she thought was more of Frankie’s dark humor. “And what about you, Dumbledore?”

“The Grim, naturally.” Dumbledore replied, with a breezy light air to him, despite having just said he got the death omen. Trelawney gasped and grabbed his cup from his hand to examine it with her own magnified eyes.

“Perhaps tea leaves were not the best idea. I apologize.”

“Tea leaves are fine and dandy, but anyone with a pot of tea and a book can do them. How do I know of your credibility as a prophetess? Can you go into trances and predict the future?”

“Naturally, Dumbledore. The great-great granddaughter of Cassandra Trelawney sees all. A trance is nothing…” Trelawney snapped, haughtily. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, “You’ve lost something important, haven’t you, my dear?”

“Yes…” Frankie answered, with a slight hopeful rise in her voice. She might’ve had something to say about Tom and what was to become of their future. Answer the question: Could she get him back, or did she have to let him go?

“I see a…bicycle!”

“A bicycle?”

“Yes, a bicycle,” Trelawney repeated. “It’s hidden in a basement far, far away.”

“I’ve never owned a bicycle in my life.” Frankie replied, quite bluntly, not even bothering on humoring the crazy woman’s delusion. She had actually believed for a second that she was going to say something useful, prove her power as a prophetess. But, it was now plain to see, that she was merely a ridiculous, over-the-top fraud.

“I’ve had enough of this nonsense. Come along, Frankie…”Dumbledore stated, seriously, as he started to get up and head for the door. Frankie took no time in hurrying up to follow behind him.

“WAIT!—”

Suddenly, Trelawney went blank. Actually blank, this time. Frankie and Dumbledore stopped in their tracks and immediately sat back down, with the feeling that this was the real deal this time. She was about to say something actually significant about the future. Her head fell down and she spoke with a voice that was not hers. It was indeed a real trance,

_"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not ... And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives ... The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..."_

Silence fell and Trelawney returned to her normal self, looking quite shocked of the words that had just come out of her mouth. Not only had she actually gone into a proper trance, but he had just foretold a prophecy that would affect the fate of the entire wizarding world.

“It seems we’ll have to reconsider you for the position,” Dumbledore added, speaking up against the awkward silence, yet choosing not to comment on the prophecy. “Thank you. We’ll let you know soon.”

Trelawney decided to be the one to leave this time. She stumbled up and walked out the door, probably in desperate need of a drink from the bar downstairs.

“Dumbledore…” Frankie mumbled. She looked absolutely terrified. For she knew more information than him and Trelawney about this prophecy. She knew who the boy born as the seventh month dies was meant to be, “Lily’s date is supposed to be at the end of July…”

“So, is Alice Longbottom’s and probably several other children in the world. You don’t know for sure it’ll be her son.” Dumbledore reasoned, trying to console her. But to no avail, her horrified expression did not vanish. “Besides, Tom isn’t going to know the end of the prophecy.”

“Why would he know any of it?” Frankie questioned. They had literally just heard it minutes ago, where could he have possibly been able to hear this information first?

“I saw Severus listening at the door. But, when I noticed him, he left.” he replied, nonchalantly.

“ _What_? Why didn’t you stop him? You know where that information is going now. It’s going straight to You-Know-Who,” she snapped. How could he do that? Dumbledore had practically just signed their death wish, letting Severus get away with that information. “He’s smart, he’ll figure out in no time which boy the prophecy refers to.”

“I’m sorry, but we can’t change fate…”

“It was supposed to be me who fought him in the end.” She had felt it was her responsibility to take Voldemort down. Was all her efforts up to now all for nothing? Now, was her godson really destined to become prey in his quest for power? He would only be a baby, and if he somehow manage to survive past that, merely a child. How could he be expected to defeat one of the most powerful dark wizards in history? She had to stop this, “Please you must fix this Dumbledore. You must keep them safe.”

“I will try.”

“Don’t you give me that! I want all the efforts of the order to be centered on protecting those three!” Frankie demanded, furiously, pounding her fists on the table in front of them. It was a selfish wish, ordering for the world’s protection to only protect one family, but she didn’t care. They would do it if that child was the key to stopping Voldemort. However, it certainly didn’t mean Frankie was going to accept the prophecy. “I won’t let him take away anymore of the people I love. _Voldemort_ is not going to get my godson.”

Then suddenly, without context or warning, she popped. Not literally. Frankie had left Dumbledore and the Hogshead and was suddenly standing in the silently stirring town of Godric’s Hollow. She had Apparated, not caring about the late hour. If Severus was telling Voldemort right now, she had to tell James and Lilly right now. They deserved to know this information right away. She ran to the Potter residence and pounded on the door, hoping they would hear her. After a few minutes, a tired eyed couple opened the door.

“Frankie, what is it?” Lily asked, letting out an unavoidable yawn, but still looking down at her with concern. Judging by the look on Frankie’s face and the late hour she could tell something was obviously wrong.

Frankie didn’t have the strength to say it straight, tell them about the perplexing fate of that awaited their child. Even though she had just rushed in a desperation to tell them right away, now that Frankie was staring into Lily’s green eyes, she couldn’t bring herself to say it. So, instead, she foolishly smiled and answered,

“Congratulations. The good news is that you’re having a boy…”

_And the bad news…_


	65. The Point of No Return

_“He wears the smell of blood and death like a perfume, there is fire in his eyes and ice in his veins, but you love him anyway. For he is a star, burning with the light of a thousand suns and your world is dark without him…”_

October 31st 1981, Godric’s Hollow.

That was when and where it all ended. The town was full of laughter and good cheer, despite the looming chill of an autumn night. Kids were wandering the streets, wearing silly costumes and carrying around jack-o-lantern pails. They were completely unaware that danger was fast approaching from the darkness of the night. Just outside of town, a cloaked figure was sweeping through the trees, at a fairly slow pace. He could have flown directly to the residence he sought and made a dramatical entrance, but where was the fun in that? There was no need to be such a drama queen. The sudden appearance of Lord Voldemort in your home would cause fear and surprise, no matter what type of entrance he made. He had almost nearly arrived to the town of Godric’s Hollow. Almost to Lily Potter and the boy, almost to victory. He would finally be able to kill the only thing with the power to stop him, thanks to Wormtail’s foolishness and betrayal. If Ellyn and Peter were still alive, certainly they’d be ashamed that he had sold out his best friend out of fear.

Suddenly, there was the rustling of leaves, a great unnatural gust of wind and Voldemort’s attention was drawn instantly to a nearby tree. There was a cloaked figure, like himself, peering out at him from behind it, as if it actually thought that would be a sufficient hiding place. Although, he couldn’t see the figure’s face using only his peripheries to sneak a glance, Voldemort knew exactly who this person was. Another twenty-five years had passed between them and finally she was intending on revealing herself, to stop hiding behind Dumbledore like some perpetuate child. He didn’t think this day would actually come, a day she showed herself of her own free will, until after he won the war. Naturally, Voldemort had to try and use the opportunity to persuade her to join him once again. It’s true she’s rather weak when it comes to matter of the heart, she lets her emotions control her far too often, but she’s still a strong witch and the only one he found worthy to stay by his side. If drastic measures must be taken for that to happen, Voldemort was even inclined to just drag her off by force, use the Imperious Curse on her. He was honestly growing sick and tired of waiting for her to come around of her own accord. Tonight he planned on getting everything he wanted. Finally, he would have the perfect life that he deserved. Ultimate power, the Potter boy dead, victory in this war, true immortality and her…

“You can’t hide from me.” he stated, in her direction, removing the hood of his own cloak. He was one thing, but did she really foolishly thinking a mere cloak and tree were enough to conceal her presence from him? Although, something told him she wasn’t actually trying to hide from him for once. She had wanted to be seen. Frankie stepped forward, removing the hood of her cloak to reveal her long hazel hair and stolen face. It was just like he had heard. Not a grey hair to be seen, or wrinkle upon her cheeks. She looked exactly like the girl in his memories, the girl he fell pitifully in love with. However, he would not dare let that sway him, like it did last time.

“Really? I think I’ve been doing a good job of it the past twenty-five years.” she replied, dryly and a bit sarcastic. He laughed a little at the fact she finally learned how to use sarcasm.

“What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be helplessly watch me kill all your friends from that well-fortified castle?”

“I know that Wormtail let Lily and James’s location slip and I’ve come to stop you,” Frankie explained, raising her wand at him for the first time. Meanwhile, Voldemort stood there, actually somewhat surprised, and it was not because she was poised to attack him. It was the information she had. It was recent and between a certain number of people and himself. He didn’t have the time to worry about a possible rat right now. There were far more important things he had to deal with, like the fact that the entire Order of the Phoenix could come popping in around them any moment. However, the night remained for the most part silent of any unnatural noises. If she had really told the order, they would all be here to try and stop him by now. Perhaps, she actually thought she could handle this alone. A rather misguided thought. The age may not affecting her appearance, but it sure was affecting her sanity. “I’d do anything to protect Harry, even if it means facing you again.”

“Your words wound me, clever girl,” Voldemort fake-pouted, clutching the spot where his heart would be, if he still really had one. He stopped the slightly mocking gesture and, in one giant step, he was only mere inches from her. Frankie unconsciously lowered her wand as he approached. However, she did not flinch at his distorted face that had struck fear in so many others, as it drew closer to her own. He gazed into her eyes, hoping she would show him an expression other than pure and utter loathing, “Why do you always insist on defying me?”

“Because you’re a monster.” she replied, simply and bitterly, a small crack in her voice.

“Most people don’t think I’m a monster. For instance, Bellatrix Lestrange. I think she’s rather fond of this version of me, unlike you,” he reasoned, even though he knew that it was the truth. He was a monster. He just wanted to mention his most loyal follower’s obvious affections for him to see how she’d react. A woman who accepted this version of him would certainly make Frankie guilty, if not a little jealous. Her face had slightly flinched at the mention of Bellatrix’s name and his curled up with a taut, wicked smile, knowing the infinitesimal motion meant he was successful. “Jealous, much?”

“In your dreams. I would rather rot than be with a horrible creature like you.” Frankie spat back at him, rather sternly and defensively. Her words would’ve probably somewhat stung if he could still feel properly. However, he stared at her impassive and unemotional.

“Come now, my dear. You keep saying things like that I might be forced to break you.”

“Your threats do not frighten me in the slightest, Tom.”

His emotionless expression faltered quickly at the call of his real name. It’d been years since someone had called him that to his face. Probably around twenty-five considering he hadn’t seen either Frankie or Dumbledore after that night in 56’ and they were the only ones who still dared to call him that.

“I see that both you and Dumbledore still insist on calling by that name, even though you claim that’s not who I am anymore.” Voldemort sneered, yet he still somehow managed to keep a relatively calm tone of voice.

“He told me that it infuriated you and I wish to make you angry.” Frankie added.

“Do you really think that, just by getting me angry, I’ll start treating you like everyone else and try to kill you?”

“That was what I was hoping for.”

“If that’s what you really wish, I of course will humor you.” He bowed to her, signifying that he would honor her wishes and fight nobly against her. Frankie returned with a simple curtsey, out of respect and tradition. Then, they both raised their wands and begun the anticipated duel.

Although, both worked quickly on their feet, Voldemort was the first one to get a spell out. With a quick movement of his wand, he easily tossed a flurry of red sparks at Frankie. However, she managed to quickly produce a shield charm and the sparks merely faded away as they hit. She returned with a giant fireball, which he extinguished just as quickly. He was faster than she was. Which unfortunately was an extreme advantage. In the second she had to think about the next move, Voldemort had already cast his. Suddenly, the earth tumbled around her, sending bullet-like rocks towards her face. However, before they were able to do much harm, Frankie had lost her footing and slid down the slight slope that they were standing on. She fell into a slight shallow hole that had been hidden at the bottom and the leaves and sticks that had covered it showered over her. Odds are that it was probably a Halloween trick that had been left for some poor unsuspecting kid. In the momentary blunder, that had not really been her fault, she could hear Voldemort snickering at her.

“You’ve got to finish what you’ve begun, sweetheart.”

Frankie scrambled out of the shallow hole, at the implication that she was running away from this battle. Her face was contorted with fury. She glared at Voldemort and hastily hit him with a hex in that second he allowed himself to be distracted. He tried to block it, but he wasn’t fast enough and the spell surrounded him in a greenish vapor. Suddenly, his back became stuck to the nearest tree and the vapor formed a slithering snake over him, restraining him there. You’d think he would be finally properly angry at her for being able to immobilize him, struggling and hissing at her to let him go. However, Voldemort made no struggling efforts to escape.

“You aren’t horrible.” he simply stated. It was supposed to be a compliment. A compliment she might’ve found slightly charming and endearing, if he were still Tom. He rarely ever gave out compliments. However, Frankie stayed straight-faced and serious. She couldn’t let anything he did or say distress her. Voldemort sighed at her continued resilience and, although he had generously complimented her handiwork, it really only took one hiss and the snake released him immediately. Frankie expression changed from serious to slightly bewildered. Since when was he a Parselmouth? Being able to talk to snakes was a power you were born with, it wasn’t just something you could learn to do because you had a creepy snake obsession. Which meant, that this was something that Tom had kept from her. Even though it wasn’t something that concerned her in anyway, she thought he would’ve bothered to tell her he had such a special power. It was another lie, another secret he’d kept.

“Well, I wasn’t exactly sitting on my arse doing nothing while I was hiding away.” she replied, trying to act slightly smug. However, truthfully she was amazed and intrigued by the sudden appearance of this special ability he had. A part of her wanted to question him about it, know all about it, and another was furious and wanted to shout at him.

“I didn’t expect so,” Voldemort remarked. “But surely you can’t keep up with me forever. Remember, only the Potter boy is destined to have the power to kill me.”

“Harry. His name is Harry,” Frankie stated. Her voice was brittle, yet strong and clear. Voldemort was actually listening, maybe even a bit mesmerized. This was different than the fake front of blind hatred she had been putting up so far. It was real. Which made him scowl, because it was that boy she really cared about. She was really only here because she cared about that boy, “Remember his name, Tom, because one day he will be the one to stop you.”

“Putting your faith in the hands of a child, that’s rich,” he scoffed, cruelly. It was honestly so stupid to care about a boy who was not her son, a child that was to be dead within the hour. What did she expect the one year old to kill him? It was a ridiculous notion. “Come now, I thought you were here wishing to save me too.”

“I’ve wished for a lot of things, but it doesn’t mean that I’m going to get any of them. We both know you can’t just magically turn back into Tom—“

“Oh but I can.” Voldemort interrupted, with a knowing smile. It wasn’t like he wished to change back to how he used to be, but rest assured he could if he wanted too. Voldemort was the most powerful wizard in the world, there was hardly anything he could not do. Nowadays, he had the power to change his appearance at the drop of a hat. He waved his wand upon himself and red piercing eyes grew dark and cold again. His dark hair grew neatly back into place and his flesh regained the little color it once had, so he was now longer a sickly ghostly white, but his normal pale palette. Tom Riddle was back. In appearance only, though, “Indulge me. I wanted to hear your little speech to try and win me back. Also, every second you keep me here is a second I’m not killing the Potters. So, if I were you, I’d just do it and get it over with.”

“Change back.” Frankie stated, despite his demands. Her voice was wobbly and quivering in fear. She slowly backed away from him, obviously more frightened then she was of Voldemort, was the clear evidence that he was actually once Tom Riddle.

“Why? I thought you wanted me like this,” Tom questioned, drawing closer to her as she kept backing away. Finally, he was getting a pleasant reaction out of her. She was cuter when she was truly, utterly terrified. “Such a superficial girl. I mean, really, all you ever cared about was my looks. What an awful person.”

“You know that’s not what this is about.”

“How about a dance, then? _Imperio!_ ” Suddenly, before she could even comprehend the fact he used one of the Unforgivable Curses so nonchalantly, she became limp and dropped her wand to the ground. He recovered the remaining distance between them and pulled her into a waltz. Frankie tried to escaped, but her feet moved of their own accord. He looked down at her feet and laughed, “Promise to step on my foot?”

“Let me go.” she hissed, with the little resilience she had left. She would stomp on his feet with all her might, if only she could control her own. Frankie felt unexpectedly dizzy, wanting nothing more than to just drop to the ground, but another part of her wanted to continue dancing with him. She kept trying to convince herself that it was only a trick, but in all honestly, it was starting to feel a little like a dream. A really good dream that she didn’t want to end.

“Not till you admit how you really feel.”

“I—don’t know how I feel.” Frankie replied, to the best of her ability. She was feeling a number of things for him right now, but mostly, she felt muddled. Not knowing whether he was inserting all these feelings into her mind through the curse, or if she was actually feeling them herself.

“Don’t you?” Tom inquired, quizzically. “Ugh, you’re too confused, when it is all so simple.”

“What is?”

“All of this, this is all that irritating old man’s fault, really. Dumbledore was the one who locked you away. He has kept you away from me all this time, made you blind and messed up your mind. He’s made you into what he wants you to be, but I can set you free…”

Tom was looking down at her with a smile, which was actually not his normal taut or evil grin. His voice was honeyed and she knew that it could not be trusted. She had to stop herself from saying yes, like he was willing her to. The curse was strong, but she had to keep resisting. This wasn’t real. He was just trying to take her away. It wouldn’t stop him from killing someone dear to her.

“He never would use one of these foul curses on me to make me stay…” Frankie reasoned. She was regaining a little of her resilience back as she thought about Harry, Lily and James. If she just kept them in her mind, she’d be able to break it. She thought about all of her friends, most dead now by his hand, of Dumbledore and Slughorn, whose fatherly protection had guided her, not caged her. Then, she thought about Tom. The real one, sitting under the tree by the lake with his face buried in a book he didn’t really have any interest in. “Why did you have to become like this? What happened to the real Tom Riddle?”

Tom stopped abruptly and looked down at her with a different expression. His eyes were no longer red, however, she still saw madness within them. The curse broke and her will was instantly returned to her. Frankie quickly backed away and grabbing her wand off the ground as she went, before he could stop her. However, he didn’t even attempt to stop her. Tom just stood there, seemingly consumed by her questions. She didn’t waste the opportunity, raising her wand to attack. Yet she stopped at the last second when she saw the look on his face.

“What happened to me? What happened to me?” Tom kept repeating, his expression looking so pitiful, almost possibly even sad. However, then it was immediately lost amongst madness and an insane maniacal laughter. Frankie had finally been able to touch the one little nerve he had left and make him properly angry. “ _You’re_ what happened to me! You are the one who opened up my heart and then left me to bleed, the second it became too inconvenient, to scary and dark for you to handle. You turned away from me when I needed you the most. You’re the one who caused all of this!”

She stared at him blankly, not expecting him to lash out at her with such a fury. What exactly was she supposed to say to his outburst? He pretty much blamed for her for his downward spiral into darkness and practically all his actions prior, including this war. He was waiting impatiently for an answer and it probably was best she answered him before he exploded with rage.

“You’re right,” Frankie agreed, too much of his surprise. Tom looked genuinely astonished. He clearly thought she would deny any of it. “I’ve always ignored the obvious darkness inside you. I always knew it was there and I always knew it was only going to get worst. If I had just chosen to stay by your side instead of Dumbledore’s all those years ago, you probably wouldn’t have turned into this horrible, pathetic creature. I was just being selfish, childish, and so, so afraid.”

“You’re the one who’s pathetic.”

“Being afraid of losing someone you love isn’t pathetic,” she replied, simply. He scoffed at the sappy statement. What a false ideal. Fear and love were both signs of weakness, she of all people should’ve been able to understand that. She let them run her life and it made her a weaker person, “You’ve always been afraid of losing me, which is why you are still so desperate to keep me with you even now. Your life is too dark without me.”

“You’re wrong. I don’t need someone like you. I don’t need anyone,” he snapped back, in a stentorian yell. That wasn’t what this was. She was so infuriating, why couldn’t she understand? Although, speaking truthfully, he still didn’t completely understand either. What was she to him now? Love was weakness, so he eliminated all traces of it. And yet she was the only thing in this life he truly loved and loved him in return. To be rid of these mixed feelings, did have to take her with him, or take her life? He had raised his wand at her in blind rage, but she merely stared back at him with cold and solemn eyes. Tom desperately searched for the splendor and happiness in her eyes, that sparkle they once had when she used looked at him, but it wasn’t there. It was gone and he couldn’t get it back no matter how desperately he tried. He had cut that connection with her a long time ago when he chose to be Voldemort. There wasn’t actually a way to have both, the choice had always been one or the other and he has already made is decision. “I can kill you and it won’t mean a thing to me!”

“I understand,” Frankie stated. She was smiling in her mind because smiling on the outside would be too dangerous for him. Finally, he understood that he had to let her go. Now, she would finally be able to do the same, “I intend on going down with the monster that I created.”

They began dueling again, both a little more solemn and serious than last time. Frankie wasn’t easily slipped up by his onslaught of spells. She put up a good fight, however, Voldemort was right. She couldn’t keep up with him forever. They got locked in a more heated and serious battle. Spells flying in every direction. However, eventually, she slipped up. Voldemort sent a jet of blue light and Frankie was pushed back onto the ground, unable to block it in time. Realizing this was the opportune time to deliver the final strike, he quickly glided over and pointed his wand down at her. Frankie was lying there, wandless, defenseless, and expressionless. He thought it would frighten her, being this close to death, knowing that by losing she had failed the Potters and signed their death wish.

However, Frankie seemed rather calm. She didn’t egg him on anymore, make any attempts to try and get her wand back, or get any last witty jabs at him before her inevitable end. She just laid there, staring at him blankly with those beautifully bright hazel eyes, waiting. He had a choice to withdraw his wand and let her go. However, then the battle would never end. It was clear Frankie intended on fighting him until death, even though she knew it was impossible to beat him.

“I love you…”

“I know...”  

Frankie flashed one of her genuine smiles, despite her position, despite what he was about to do. She smiled at him because he knew that’s what he loved the most about her. Never did he imagine that the strange girl he met in the orphanage garden when he was six years old would be lying on the ground before him several years later, smiling, and he would be pointing a wand at her throat, poised to kill her. And yet he still blamed her for all of this. It was her own fault for inserting herself into his life. If she hadn’t been so keen to be his friend, if she hadn’t entranced him with that smile and her kindness, they wouldn’t be in this situation right now. They had both come so far together, but now she was in his way, no longer willing to be by his side. She had to die. He had kept it in the back of his mind for many years, knowing she would never follow him into darkness and, in the end, he would have to kill her for it. He allowed himself to examine her features one last time for his memories.

And in one green flash, she was gone.

Frankie hadn’t closed her eyes and mentally prepare herself for death. She had decided to leave those famously colored eyes wide open for him to still be able to see those eyes he’d loved after she was gone. The ones he’d caught staring at him from the bushes several years ago. Although, like a seemingly kind and sentimental last act, it was horribly cruel of her. She had wanted to make him see the light leave her eyes, secretly knowing he would suffer when he did. His heart which was frozen, now burned with a heat that enveloped his insanity and he became filled with intense emotions he didn’t understand. It was a sort of sick feeling, like when you dry swallow a huge pill and it tries to crawl back up your throat, or realizing you’re falling down the stairs and there’s nothing you can do to stop it. Was this what remorse felt like? Or was this pity? Or fury? Or anguish? He had to turn away from her body to push back most of these feelings he’d kept locked up inside for so long. Once he managed to contain all of them again and compose himself, Tom turned back to her,

“Idiot.”

With that last sentiment, he turned himself back to Voldemort. He no longer had a reason to ever be Tom Riddle again and he wasn’t exactly going to be able to strike fear in the Potters with his charming, handsome face still on. Voldemort was about to turn away again, when the faintest glimmer caught his eye. A dulled gold locket had fallen out of her blouse and was forcing him to look at her again. Voldemort tore the trinket from her neck and clasped it around his own. He still needed two more Horcruxes and it seemed to be a sufficient item. Normally, he’d been aiming for items of historical significance to the world. However, this had historical significance to him, like the diary. She probably wouldn’t approve, especially considering she was not going to be the victim he made it with. He wasn’t going to use her death in such a wretched way. But he still was going to honor her memory by giving the locket a piece of his soul. She would get whatever bit of Tom there was left and they would always be able to be together. He drew his hood once more and continued to walk towards the town of Godric’s Hollow and the Potter house, like he hadn’t even been stopped in the first place. Their story was finally over, yet he had to continue on without her, because their end was only the beginning of whole other story.

 

The End.


End file.
